Amitabh Bachchan (1942-)

Amitabh Bachchan, also known as Big B, has dominated Indian cinema for over four decades. His most popular films were ‘Sholay’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Trishul’, ‘Don’ and ‘Deewar’. Amitabh often played the role of an angry young man fighting a corrupt establishment. In 2000, he was chosen as the host for ‘Kaun Banega Crrorepati’. The show became a great hit. Bachchan was awarded the Padma Shri in 1983 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005. In 1999,he was named BBC Superstar of the Millennium. He has also won 12 Filmfare Awards in various categories. In June 2000 he became the first living Asian to have a wax statue erected in his honour at Madame Tussaud’s in London.

Raj Kapoor (1924-1988)

Raj Kapoor a producer, director, actor was among India’s most popular movie stars from the 1940s till his death. Raj Kapoor was the eldest son of theatre and film actor Prithviraj Kapoor. His early films ‘Barsaat’ in 1949, ‘Awaara’ (1950), and ‘Shri 420′ (1955) were very successful. Raj Kapoor has been called the ‘Charlie Chaplin of India’ for The role of a tramp he played in some of his films. He is famous for using music and playback singer Mukesh’s voice in a wonderful way and the song ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’ in ‘Shri 420′ remains an unofficial anthem of India and continues to he sung as far away as Russia. His most ambitious film was ‘Mera Naam Joker’. His other films were ‘Bobby’ (1973), ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ (1978) and ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’ (1985). He was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1988.

Dev Anand (1923-2011)

Dev Anand was known as the ‘Ever Green Hero’, Dev Anand has played the lead actor for more than five decades in over 110 motion pictures. Deg Anand won two Filmfare awards, in 1958 for his performance in the film ‘Kala Paani’ and in 1966 for ‘Guide’. In1993, he received the Filmfare ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. And in July 2000, in New York City, he was honoured with an award at the hands of the then First Lady of the United States of America – Mrs. Hillary Clinton- for his ‘Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema’. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001.

Madhubala (1933-1969)

Madhubala was perhaps the most beautiful artist to ever grace the Indian screen. She rose from humble beginnings to became the most captivating star India has ever produced. Madhubala was born as Mumtaz Jehan Begum in a poor, conservative family at Pathan Muslims in Delhi, and entered the world of films at the age of eight. With the movie ‘Mahal’ (1949) she became a superstar overnight. She began to be called the Venus of Indian film screen. Among her greatest successes were ‘Mr. And Mrs.’ (1955) and her last film ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960). She died at the age of 36 due to a heart disease. In this short life, she had acted in over 70 movies, and to this day remains one of the most enduring legends of Indian cinema.

Nargis (1929-1981)

Nargis is counted among the best and the most glamorous actresses if Indian cinema. Nargis made many of her successful films with Raj kapoor. The Raj Kapoor-Nargis association lasted for years and they did about 17 films together, most of them were hits. However, it was Mehboob Khan who cast her in the masterpiece ‘Mother India’, which is one if Indian cinema’s all time classics. During the making of this film, a new actor Sunil Dutt, who was playing her son, rescued her from a fire. They fell in love and got married. She was the first Indian actress to be given the Padma Shri. She was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha. She died if cancer.