12 Interesting and unknown facts about Dev Anand

Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand, commonly known as Dev Anand, made major contributions to Indian cinema. Regarded as an influential actor, he was a writer, director and a producer. He acted in about 116 films, out of which, 114 were Hindi films and two were English. He was born on this day, September 26, in the year 1923 in the Shakargarh tehsil of the Gurdaspur district in Punjab (present-day Narowal district of Pakistan).

Let's take a look at 13 Interesting and unknown facts about Dev Anand:

1. He was called DD in school

Born Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand, the actor was fondly addressed as DD, an abbreviated version of his first name by his peers in school.

2. Worked as a clerk before movies happened

During his struggling days in Mumbai, Dev Anand worked as a clerk in an accountancy firm for a meager salary of Rs 85 to make ends meet.

3. First leading role in Ziddi

The first time Dev Anand played a leading man was in Ziddi, opposite Kamini Kaushal. The actor got his big break as a hero when introduced thus by Ashok Kumar, already a major star. Kumar had spotted Anand hanging around and handpicked him as hero for the Bombay Talkies film.

4. Dev Anand was asked not to wear black

After Dev Anand's hit Kala Pani, the actor was asked not to wear a black suit in public because women would swoon and jump from buildings seeing him dressed in black.

5. Saved Suraiya from a capsized boat and fell in love

The Dev-Suraiya romance began when shooting the film Vidya. While filming the song Kinare kinare chale jaayenge on a boat, the boat capsized. Living up to his heroic image, Dev rescued her and wanted to marry her.

6. Proposed to Suraiya with a diamond ring worth Rs. 3000

Dev proposed to Suraiya on the sets of the film Jeet with a diamond ring worth Rs 3,000, but Suraiya's maternal grandmother was strongly opposed to the inter-religious romance. As a result Suraiya remained unmarried all her life.

7. Launched Navketan Films in 1949

Dev launched his own company Navketan Films in 1949. By 2011, including Dev's most recent film, Chargesheet, Navketan had produced 35 films.

8. Fell in love with wife Kalpana Karthik while shooting Taxi Driver

Guru Dutt's first film Baazi established the on-screen pair of Dev Anand and Kalpana Karthik, and the two went on to make Aandhiyan, Taxi Driver, House No 44 and Nau Do Gyarah, another succession of hits. The two tell in love while making Taxi Driver and Dev and Kalpana got married.

9. Bought the iconic checkered cap in Denmark

The iconic, checkered print cap worn by Dev Anand in Jewel Thief was purchased from a shop in Copenhagen, Denmark where he was filming Pyar Mohabbat with Saira Bano.

10. Bagged Filmfare best actor award for Kalapani and Guide

It's but natural that a star of Dev Anand's stature won several awards. From Best Actor Filmfare trophies for Kala Pani and Guide to prestigious laurels like Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke awards, he bagged them all.

11. Never worked with Amitabh Bachchan

It's startling how Dev Anand has worked with everyone from Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar to Mithun Chakraborty and Aamir Khan, all except Amitabh Bachchan, who gained stardom after signing on Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer, originally offered to DA.

12. Worked in a Hollywood film

Not many know Dev Anand worked in a Hollywood film, "The Evil Within" that starred one of his favourite leading ladies Zeenat Aman along with Vietnamese actress Kieu Chinh.

12 Interesting and unknown facts about Irrfan Khan that will make you admire the actor even more

Unconventional looks, no godfather in Bollywood and no story of exponential rise in the industry! It’s Irrfan Khan, the actor, the person and the global Indian. The guy made a name for himself from the ground up, brick by brick. Ask his fans and they would almost certainly try convincing you that in terms of acting talent, this guy is all other Bollywood Khans put together. Perhaps! He certainly is one of The Best actors in the industry. No doubts about that.

Let's take a look at 12 Interesting and unknown facts about Irrfan Khan that will make you admire the actor even more:

1. He became an actor by chance. He wanted to be a cricketer. Parents disapproved of it. As if by stroke of luck, he got a scholarship to attend NSD (National School of Drama). He was pursuing MA in Jaipur at that time. And he lied about having past theater experience to get in. By all means, it was a ‘good lie.’ We only have a handful of real artists like him in Bollywood.

2. He was a final year student at NSD (1988) when Mira Nair chose him for a role in Salaam Bombay.

3. A TV regular from 1994 to 1998, Irrfan was so bored at one point in time that he thought of quitting. It is an award winning movie based on local tribes of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

4. His real name – Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan. He was born in the village of TONK in Jaipur, in a well off family with royal connections. He has two siblings and his father was a wealthy Zamindar who wanted his son to join the family tyre business. Good that he didn’t.

5. He added an extra ‘R’ to his name – hence the name IRRFAN. And it was not a numerologist who suggested this. Irrfan did it himself.

6. At 6 feet, 1 inch, Irrfan is one of the tallest actors in Bollywood.

7. LunchBox is the only Indian movie to have ever won a TFCA – Toronto Film Critics Association Award. With so much talent he sure has a long way to go.

8. He was offered a big role in Interstellar, but turned it down as he was expected to stay in USA for four months at a stretch.

9. Our home grown Irrfan Khan play the full fledged baddie in the hollywood movie The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012.

10. He has a wish – to gift his mother a suitcase full of money.

11. Julia Roberts stopped outside the Kodak Theater (where the Oscars were being staged) to compliment Irrfan on Slumdog Millionaire.

12. He reads a LOT; almost one new Hollywood script per week to better understand how to play his roles better. Irrfan did about 200 episodes of this TV serial in 1990s.

10 Interesting and unknown facts about the 'Item Girl of Bollywood' Malaika Arora

Malaika Arora is one of the few actresses in Bollywood who has impressed the audience with her sheer dance moves. She is a remarkable person who can sweep you off your feet with her spectacular looks. She continues to rock the film industry and has given a number of items songs. She is the heartbeat of every fan and these days you can see her judging the dance reality shows like Jhalak Dikhla Ja and India’s Got Talent. If you are an ardent fan of this actress, then it is important that you know everything about her right from professional to personal level.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about the 'Item Girl of Bollywood' Malaika Arora:

1. She is born and brought up in Mumbai in the year 1981. Her parents got divorced when she was only 11 years old. She had to get shifted to Chembur in Maharashtra later on.

2. Mallaika Arora’s mother is a Malayali Cathoic while her father is Punjabi of Fazilka district near Indian border. She has a younger sister Amrita Arora who is also an actress in the Indian film industry and known for her gorgeous looks.

3. Malaika Arora completed her education from Swami Vivekanand School at Chembur. Grace Polycarp, the principal of the school happens to be her maternal aunt. She is also an alumnus of Holy Cross High School at Thane where she studied up to class 9.

4. She is extremely protective about her younger sister and has taken very good care of her ever since her parents got divorced. Malaika Arora is extremely close to Amrita and takes very good care of her.

5. She was one of the first Video Jockeys of India and she was elected for MTV when it started its operations in India. Malaika Arora started as an interviewer and later turned into anchoring many programs. Malaika started dancing at a tender age of 4 years and never stopped dancing since then.

6. Malaika Arora works out three days in the week in gym. Apart from that workout schedule includes medicine balls, free weights, kickboxing, squats and Yoga. All these things help her to keep her curvaceous body in proper shape.

7. Malaika’s favourite dancer in Bollywood is none other than Hrithik Roshan. She will do anything to share the screen dancing with him. Surely it will set the stage on fire watching both of them dance together. Deepika Padukone is her favourite dancing diva in Bollywood.

8. She has revealed in a show that she never wanted to become an actress. This vibrant actress has numerous items songs to her credit and she loves dancing more than acting. If she is ever offered a full pledged role, she wants to do action movies preferably a super hero.

9. Before her entry into the film industry, Malaika Arora worked as a model. She appeared in a number of commercials in the early phase of her life. You might have seen her in the music video “Gur Naal Ishq Mitha” and also in the song “Chaiyya Chaiyya” dancing to the tune of the music with Shah Rukh Khan in the movie Dil Se.

10. Malaika Arora is married to Arbaaz Khan who is the elder brother of Salman Khan. Both of them met during a coffee advertisement shooting and instantly fell in love with each other. They have a son named Arhaan Khan.

10 Interesting and unknown facts about 'The Disco Dancer' Mithun Chakraborty

The Ultimate Disco Dancer of Bollywood, an actor par excellence and a human being to be adored, Mithun Chakraborty needs a grand salute. Fondly known as Mithun Da, the actor has achieved sky high success in almost 4-decade long career and has witnessed a stardom which is no layman’s job. But still, he is one such rare star who is completely unaffected by all the hullabaloo of the glamorous world.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about 'The Disco Dancer' Mithun Chakraborty:

1. Mithun Chakraborty was born on 16 July 1950 in Kolkata, West Bengal. He has completed his schooling at the Oriental Seminary. He graduated with chemistry from Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta and is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India.

2. Mithun Chakraborty was a wrestler in his younger days. In 1967, he won the West Bengal State Wrestling Championship in the Junior Category.

3. He made his acting debut with the film Mrigayaa in 1976. He first gained fame as a renowned dancer and established himself as one of the all time top ten greatest actors of India. He became a household name for his role in film Disco Dancer. He has appeared in about 350 films including Bengali, Oriya, Bhojpuri and Punjabi movies.

4. Mithun Chakraborty was a hard Naxalite before he joined the film industry. It was after the death of his brother in an unfortunate accident that he quit.

5. During his struggling days, he was an assistant to star dancer Helen under the name Rana Rej. Speaking about his struggling days, Mithun Da had once said that when he danced on stage, he was not even sure whether he would get a meal. He used to wish after every performance that a reputed person from the industry saw him dance, and would give him a break.

6. He owns various in the regions of Ooty, Darjeeling, Siliguri and Kolkata. He considers Ooty to be a very lucky place for him because most of his films which had a backdrop of Ooty were a super hit at the box-office.

7. He had got a massive fan following in Russia. There, he has been worshipped by his fans to the extent that in an interview, Mithun once claimed that he sometimes feels he must have got great association with the country in his last birth.

8. Mithun has won four National Awards, three of them Best Actor - 'Mrigayaa' (1976), Agneepath' 1990) and the Bengali film 'Tahader Katha' (1992), and one for Best Supporting Actor for the 1998 film 'Swami Vivekananda'.

9. Mithun Da is married to Yogita Bali and has two kids but there was a time when Mithun Da was quite famous for his relationship with Sridevi. Reports suggest that despite being a married man, Mithun Da couldn’t control his fondness for Sridevi and indulged in a secret wedding with her. It was only after a newspaper published their marriage certificate that their relationship became public.

10. The actor has got tremendous love for animals and he deems himself as a proud father of 38 dogs in Mumbai. He fondly addresses his dogs as his kids and loves them unconditionally.

10 Interesting and unknown facts about bollywood actress Dia Mirza

Dia Mirza is a celebrated actress in the Bollywood industry who has won the Miss Asia Pacific title in the year 2000. Apart from her acting skills, she is known in the media for her humanitarian social work. She is one of the successful actress in the Bollywood industry and has a large fan base in India.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about bollywood actress Dia Mirza:

1. She comes from a mixed family of German and Indian. Her father Frank Handrich is a German architect while her mother Deepa is a Bengali and an interior decorator. Her parents separated when she was just 4 years old. Her father died when she was 9 and her mother re-married with her step father dying in 2003.

2. She was born on 9th December 1981 at Andhra Pradesh. Her nickname is Dee and likes eating chocolates. Her favourite perfume is Baby Doll by Ralph Lauren. Her favourite colour being turquoise and her favourite movies include Forest Grump and Schlinder’s List.

3. Her favourite actors incorporate Nana Patekar, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. In Hollywood, she prefers Tom Cruise and happens to have seen every one of his movies.

4. Dia Mirza got her surname from her step father named Ahmed Mirza who was a Hyderabadi Muslim. She was born and raised in Hyderabad where she went to Vidyaranya High School. She finished her graduation in Arts from Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad.

5. In April 2014, she got engaged with Sahil Sanga who was her long time business partner. Both of them got married in October that same year at Chattarpur Farm in New Delhi.

6. Before making a career in the Indian film, Dia worked as an advertising official for a media firm named as Neeraj's Multimedia Studio. She was paid Rs 5000 at that point. In the meantime, she began her modelling career and she could be found in various promotions for brands like Lipton and Wall's Ice-cream.

7. She made debut with the film Rehna Hain Tere Dil Mein featuring Saif Ali Khan and R Madhavan. Tragically, the movie did not fared well in the box office. She has showed up in various films like Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Dus, Parineeta with Vidya Balan and Tumko Na Bhool Payenge.

8. Dia Mirza has garnered a lot of praise for her social work. As such, she has received 2012 Green Award from IIFA for her contribution towards the environment. At the same time, she has done a number of different awareness campaigns like HIV, female foeticide, cancer etc. She has publicly supported Narmada Bachao Andolan and written a number of articles for Hindustan Times.

9. In the year 2012, Dia was seen in a regional cinema with a Bengali film maker named Pritam's Paanch Adhyay. It swung to be an exceedingly effective movie at the box office and the film was chosen for major film festivals in India and abroad.

10. Dia Mirza was the second runners up at Femina Miss India 2000 and was the winner of Miss Asia Pacific 2000. In the meantime, she has won different titles like Miss Close Up Smile, Miss Avon and Miss Beautiful Smile.

10 Interesting and unknown facts about Ranveer Singh that you did not know

Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh made a kickass passage in bollywood with 'Band Baja Baraat.' Since at that point, he is shaking the big screen and social media as well. He is best known for his role in 'Baajirao Mastani', and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Ram-Leela'.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about Ranveer Singh that you did not know:

1. Ranveer Singh is Sonam Kapoor's Cousin from the maternal side.

2. Ranveer had rejected 3 movies, before marking his first debut film 'Band Baja Baraat' opposite Anushka Sharma.

3. Unlike other actors, Ranveer did not do any ads or music videos before entering into bollywood, thinking that the fresh face works better in film industry.

4. He was not into modelling. After his college, he joined a job as a copywriter at an advertising agency.

5. Ranveer once thought of changing his name as it sounds so much similar to Ranbir (Kapoor).

6. He is master at 'Rapping'. He even rapped a couple of lines in his film 'Ladies vs Ricky Behl'.

7. Ranveer Singh dated Ahana Deol, daughter of Hema Malini and Dharmendra, before entering in the Indian film industry.

8. Ranveer Is a Mama's boy. Likewise, he considers his sister as his second mother.

9. Not Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh was the primary choice for Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet.

10. During the shooting of the film “Lootera”, Ranveer Singh suffered a serious led injury. He again goy his shoulder injured during his to be released film “Bajirao Mastani”.

10 Interesting and unknown facts about Amrita Rao that you did not know

Amrita Rao is an Indian model and a very famous Bollywood actress who has carved a niche for herself in the Indian film industry. She has appeared in a number of movies and left the audience and her fans mesmerized by her performance. Till date, she has done a number of hit movies like Vivaah, Ishq Vish, Legend of Bhagat Singh, Main Hoon Na, Masti etc.

When we discuss Amrita Rao, the main thing that comes to our mind is the Bollywood's quintessential next door girl. She has done a number of movies with Shahid Kapoor who happens to be her favourite co-star. She was hailed for her role in the movie Vivaah opposite Shahid Kapoor and is her best film till date.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about Amrita Rao:

1. She was born on 7th June 1981 and has worked in a number of Tamil and Telugu movies. Apart from Hindi and English, Amrita Rao can speak Marathi and Konkani fluently.

2. She is born in a Brahmin Konkani family and did her graduation from Mumbai. Amrita Rao has a younger sibling named Preeta and both of them have done modelling together. Her father Deepak Rao is a businessman in Mumbai.

3. Amrita had done her senior secondary school from Canossa Convent Girls School, which was a very strict school. In one of her interviews she said, “I went to a strict school. Even if a button was missing here and a clip missing there, we were punished. I had to always be obedient. No masti at all for me”.

4. She is the granddaughter of Guru Dutt who was a celebrated chief, maker and film on-screen character. Amrita Rao has done her graduation from Sophia College. She has a decent voice and she has done Hindustani Classical singing for a long time when she was in school.

5. At the point when Amrita Rao was 16 years of age, her first crush was nobody however Nayan Mongia; India's a standout amongst the most praised wicket managers. She says that every one of the young ladies in her group used to like Sachin TENDULKAR yet she was succumbing to Mongia.

6. Amrita Rao came into the Bollywood film industry in the year 2002 and made debut in a movie called Ab Ke Baras. Till date, she has won a number of different awards like Fashion Icon of the Year that was sponsored by NIFD, Stardust Awards, Filmfare Awards etc. Also, she is the winner of prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award when she was 25 years old.

7. Before beginning her vocation in Indian motion pictures, Amrita Rao showed up in various TV plugs and was doing displaying for a few mold houses. Her first open appearance was in the year 2002 when she was 17 years of age. She was included in a music video called Woh Pyar Mera by Alisha Chinoy.

8. In the year 2007, she was offered a movie by Yash Raj Films however she denied the offer for the role of the lead actress in the movie. Actually she needed to kiss Ranbir Kapoor in one scene which she has never done onscreen.

9. Her hobbies include writing, reading and poetry. She loves eating Thai and Mangalorian cuisine. Amrita Rao is the brand ambassador of Miss Players Apparel, Parachute Hair Oil and D’Damas Gold Jewellery. Times of India declared her as one of the Top 50 Desirable Women of 2011.

10. She was in headlines after she secretly married with her boyfriend Anmol who is actually a radio jockey. As she is amazingly saved in her own life, the wedding declaration by this diva came as a kind of shock.

10 Interesting and unknown facts about bollywood beauty Sridevi that you may not know

The gorgeous Bollywood actress Sridevi can still give many young actresses run for their money. Indeed, even at this age, the actress is getting the offers to assume the lead roles in the movies. Her comeback movie English Vinglish a huge hit at the Box-Office.

Let's take a look at 10 Interesting and unknown facts about bollywood beauty Sridevi that you may not know:

1. Sridevi was born on August 13, 1963. She was named Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan upon birth. She is the first female actress to have earned the tag of being a superstar. She started her career at the age of four in Thirumugham’s devotional film, Thunaivan.

2. Sridevi was also considered for a role in Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg wanted to cast her for a brief role. But she was at the peak of her career in Bollywood then and had rejected the offer.

3. When she made her debut in Bollywood, Sridevi was not open to talking in Hindi. Her voice was for the most part dubbed by Naaz. Rekha had dubbed for her in the film, Aakhiri Raasta.

4. In 2013, the Government of India granted Sridevi with the prestigious Padma Shri Award. She was likewise voted 'India's Greatest Actress in 100 Years' in a CNN-IBN national survey led in 2013 on the event of the Centenary of Indian Cinema.

5. The actress started her career as a child artist at the age of four in a Tamil movie.

6. Not many people know that the actress was down with 103 degrees fever, while shooting Chalbaaz’s famous song ‘Na Jaane Kaha Se Aayi Hai’.

7. Sridevi has worked in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada movies. Lion's share of her movies were made in Kollywood or Tamil film industry.

8. The first time Sridevi dubbed her dialogues in Hindi was for Yash Chopra's film Chandni. Being a South Indian performing artist, she was not extremely OK with Hindi language. Hence, she required a dubbing artist.

9. With movies like Himmatwala, Tohfa, Mr India, Chandni, Nagina and Sadma, Sridevi developed as a standout amongst the most looked for after performing artists in Bollywood. Jaya Prada was considered to be Sridevi’s strongest contender at that point of time.

10. Sridevi was the first choice for Indra Kumar's Beta. She should star inverse Anil Kapoor in the film yet declined the offer since she had officially done a series of movies with the actor.

12 Interesting and unknown facts about Dev Anand

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