| Born | Kajal Agarwal June 19, 1985 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Model, Actress |
| Years active | 2004-present |
Early life
She was born in Mumbai, India to Suman Agarwal and Vinay Agarwal. She has a sister named Nisha Aggarwal, who is appearing in Telugu films as well. She finished her studies in Mumbai and started her modeling career while she was in college.
Film career
Career beginnings (2004–08)
Kajal made her acting debut in the 2004 Hindi film Kyun! Ho Gaya Na..., in which she enacted minor supporting role as the friend of Diya, the film’s lead, played by Aishwarya Rai,[4][5] following which she signed veteran Tamil director Bharathiraja's Bommalattam. The film, however, got delayed and released in late 2008.
She made her debut in the Telugu film industry and played her first leading role in 2007 in Teja's Lakshmi Kalyanam alongside Kalyan Ram, which did not fare well at the box office. Later that year, she appeared in the Krishna Vamsi-directed film Chandamama, which opened to positive reviews and became her first major successful film.[6] In 2008, she had her first Tamil film release, Perarasu's action entertainerPazhani, co-starring Bharath. Following this film, she had two more Tamil releases that year with Venkat Prabhu’s comedy-thriller Saroja, in which she did a guest appearance, and Bharathiraja’s investigative thriller Bommalattam. Although the former went on to become a commercial as well as a critical success[7], both films failed to boost her career as her roles were too insignificant.[8] Both her Telugu releases, Pourudu and Aatadista opposite Sumanth and Nitin, respectively, neither received positive reviews nor were successul at the box office.
| Riya Sen at a fashion show | |
| Born | Riya Dev Varma 24 January 1981 Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actor, model |
| Parents | Bharat Dev Varma Moon Moon Sen |
| Relatives | Raima Sen (sister) |
Born on 24 January 1981 in Kolkata, West Bengal, Riya is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen, a former actress,[21][62] and granddaughter ofSuchitra Sen, a legend in Bengali cinema.[63] Before moving to Mumbai, she lived in Kolkata with her parents and sister Raima Sen, also an actress. Her father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura.[64] Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess ofCooch Behar, whose younger sister Gayatri Devi was the Maharani of Jaipur.[64] Her paternal great-grandmother Indira was the only daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda.[65][66] Riya's maternal great-grandfather Adinath Sen was a prominent Kolkata businessman, whose father Dinanath Sen - a relative of former Union Law Minister Ashoke Kumar Sen- was the Diwan or a Minister of the Maharaja of Tripura.[67] The sisters are credited on-screen under their mother's maiden name, although their official papers carry the surname Dev Varma.[68]
Riya completed her schooling at Loreto House and Rani Birla College, both in Kolkata.[64] Thereafter, she studied at the National Institute of Fashion Technology,[69] and she took up jewellery-designing as a hobby.[70] She designs most of the clothes that she wears in films and commercials.[71] Riya is trained in Kathak and is still pursuing it under Vijayshree Chaudhury.[72] She is taking kickboxing lessons and has completed Level I of the 5 levels in belly dancing.[10][73] Riya entered the film industry through small-time modeling assignments, commuting between Mumbai and Kolkata and traveling by public transport during her early career.[21][74][75] After breaking into the film industry, she shifted from her mother's house in Ballygunge Circular Road in south Kolkata to Mumbai.[76] There she moved into the family house in Juhu, where she stays with her sister.[75][77] During her stay in Mumbai, the media romantically linked her to model and actor John Abraham.[78] In the Bollywood press, she was, in 2008, speculatively linked to the novelist Salman Rushdie, although both stated that they were simply good friends.[79]
Acting career
Riya first appeared as a child artist in the film Vishkanya in 1991, where she played the role of the young Pooja Bedi. At the age of 18, she did National Film Awards winning director Bharathiraja's Tamil film, Taj Mahal (2000), which did not achieve commercial success.[1] She was scheduled to make her Bollywood film debut in Love You Hamesha, opposite actor Akshaye Khanna; however, the film was stalled, and she finally made her debut in N. Chandra's Style in 2001.[2] This low-budget sex comedy[3][4] was the first commercial success in over a decade for the director.[5] A launch pad for Riya, cast in the female lead along with fellow-newcomers, Sharman Joshi, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal, the film pioneered a trend of commercial success for small budget films in India.[6][7] Riya and the second female lead of the film were replaced by aspirant actresses Sunali Joshi and Jaya Seal in Xc'.[8][9]
Her next success was Jhankaar Beats, a comedy revolving around the music of legendary composer R D Burman, which saw her playing a small and glamorous role[10] alongside Shayan Munshi, Juhi Chawla, Rahul Bose, Rinke Khanna and Sanjay Suri. Produced by Pritish Nandy, publishing director of The Times of India,[11] the film was made on a budget of Rs. 25 million (US$525,000),[11] marking the sixth in a row of small to medium budget films made by Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC).[12] Despite being part of a wave of offbeat films that mostly failed to make an impact at the box office,[13][14] it drew public attention upon its release, which led to a commercial success among a restricted audience targeted by a selective release in twenty cities.[12][15] It was one of the first films made in Hinglish, a mixture of Hindiand English.[16][17] In 2005, she starred in Shaadi No. 1, which had no female lead.[18] This comedy, based on the theme of modern marriage, was directed by David Dhawan, a renowned film director from this genre.[19][20]
Although films like Style and Jhankar Beats succeeded commercially, most of her later films have generated less revenue.[21][22] A number of them remained unfinished. While many of her appearances have been item numbers and cameos,[23][24][25] few of her leading roles have been in low-budget films.[26] Though she had small roles in Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002), Qayamat (2003) and Plan (2004), attention was drawn to her item numbers in all three, especially the one in Qayamat that featured her in a bubble-bath.[21][27][28] Besides this, she performed another item number in James (2005) on director-producer Ram Gopal Varma's behest, who has a history of casting aspirant actress-models likeSameera Reddy, Isha Koppikar and Koena Mitra in similar roles.[29] Furthermore, she took part in a dance number for Sajid Khan's Heyy Babyy (2007) that featured several mainstream Bollywood actresses.[30]
Genelia D'Souza at the premiere of her filmMere Baap Pehle Aap (2008). Born 5 August 1987
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Occupation Actress, Model, Host Years active 2003–present
Personal life
D'Souza is deeply religious and says that, she regularly attends Sunday Mass at St. Anne's Parish (Bandra), and whenever the family is home, a part of their evening is reserved for saying the rosary together.[9] In an interview with The Times of India, she comments, "I keep a Novena every Wednesday at St. Michael’s Church in Mahim."[7] In an interview with Daily News and Analysis, she said that "My communication with God is conversational, [...] I'm God's favourite child; I believe that God has always been kind to me."[9] Tabloids have repeatedly linked D'Souza romantically with Ritesh Deshmukh, ever since they starred together in their debut film Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003.[93] They were reportedly ready to get engaged, but Ritesh's father, the then-Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh did not agree.[94] Ever since then, D'Souza has strongly denied any rumors of a relationship with Deshmukh, and responds that she has just friendly relations with him.[17] She currently resides in Bandra (Mumbai), where she was brought up.[10] Her mother tongue is Konkani.[5]In June 2010, she was the subject of a controversy, when a Tamil daily reported that she had attended the controversial 2010 IIFA Awards inColombo.[95] Several Bollywood actors and the South Indian film industry had boycotted the event, over the alleged killing of Tamilian civilians at the height of the conflict between the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009.[96] The rumours of her visit to Colombo started after her friend Ritesh Deshmukh was seen at the festival in Colombo. Immediately, various Tamil groups and Kollywoodassociations demanded her films to be banned.[95]
Acting career
Debut and recognition, 2003–05
When D'Souza was offered a role in Tujhe Meri Kasam, initially she turned it down, as she was not keen to pursue a career in acting. But the crew insisted and kept contacting her for two months, and she agreed when she saw the Telugu version of the movie.[16] Tamil director, S. Shankar, was impressed with her performance in the Parker Pen commercial and decided to cast her in a leading role in his 2003 Tamil filmBoys.[19] D'Souza was selected among 300 girls, who had auditioned for the movie. She signed three movies simultaneously in three different languages, Tujhe Meri Kasam (Hindi), Boys (Tamil), and Satyam (Telugu).[6]D'Souza's professional movie career began,[20] with her Bollywood debut Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003.[8] Indian film critic Taran Adarsh noted, "Genelia is a wonderful performer. She catches you unaware with a performance that's natural to the core."[21] The movie garnered poor box office returns,[22] and it failed to propel her career in Bollywood.[23] Following her poor debut in Bollywood, she decided to act in South Indian films.[4] Later the same year, she made her Tamil debut as the teenage girl Harini in Boys, a story about five teenagers having stereotypical teen-boy fantasies. The movie, though noted for its vulgar sexual content, was a box-office success,[24] and subsequently she started receiving Telugu film offers.[19] She left Tamil cinema for a while to concentrate on the Telugu film industry. She made her Telugu debut in 2003 as a medical student in Satyam.[25] Sify noted in their review that, "Genelia is excellent as her body language is her major asset."[26]The movie was well received,[27] and it raised her profile in the Telugu film industry.[19]In 2004, D'Souza appeared in her second Bollywood movie, Masti. The comedy focuses on three close friends who reunite after three years, but are now married and are being harassed by their wives. D'Souza portrayed the character of one of the wives.[28] Taran Adarsh was complimentary of D'Souza's role, saying, "Amongst the wives, Genelia is the best, [...] Genelia looks the stern and demanding wife and is sure to be noticed."[29] The film fared well at the UK box office.[28] The same year, she appeared in two Telugu movies Samba,[30] andSye,[31] both succeeding at the box-office.[32]After appearing in her first Telugu movie in 2005, Naa Alludu, she starred in the Tamil romantic entertainer Sachein.[33] A review in The Hindunoted, "Genelia, who hardly made an impression in Boys, makes much impact in Sachein."[34] The movie evoked mixed response from audiences, but was well received with the younger generation.[35] She later appeared in the Telugu patriotic movie Subhash Chandra Bose.[36]k
| Genelia D'Souza at the premiere of her filmMere Baap Pehle Aap (2008). | |
| Born | 5 August 1987 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actress, Model, Host |
| Years active | 2003–present |