Malala Yousafzai's Biography

Malala Yousafzai (Pashto: ملاله یوسفزۍ‎; Urdu: ملالہ یوسف زئی‎ Malālah Yūsafzay, born 12 July 1997)^[1] is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She is known for her education and women's rights activism in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. In early 2009, at the age of 11–12, Yousafzai wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban rule, their attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls. The following summer, a New York Times documentary was filmed about her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region, culminating in the Second Battle of Swat. Yousafzai rose in prominence, giving interviews in print and on television, and she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by South African activist Desmond Tutu.
On 9 October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. In the days immediately following the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition, but later her condition improved enough for her to be sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom for intensive rehabilitation. On 12 October, a group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwā against those who tried to kill her, but the Taliban reiterated its intent to kill Yousafzai and her father.
The assassination attempt sparked a national and international outpouring of support for Yousafzai. Deutsche Welle wrote in January 2013 that Malala may have become "the most famous teenager in the world."^[2] United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown launched a UN petition in Yousafzai's name, using the slogan "I am Malala" and demanding that all children worldwide be in school by the end of 2015. Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari in November. In the 29 April 2013 issue of Time magazine, Malala was featured on the magazine's front cover and as one of "The 100 Most Influential People In The World". Yousafzai was the winner of Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize and was nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. On 12 July 2013, Yousafzai spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education.

Early life and background

Malala Yousafzai was born into a Sunni Muslim family^[1] of Pashtun ethnicity in July 1997 and given her first name, Malala, meaning "grief stricken",^[3] after Malalai of Maiwand, a Pashtun poetess and warrior woman.^[4] Her last name, Yousafzai, is that of a large Pashtun tribal confederation that is predominant in Pakistan's Swat Valley, where she grew up. At her house in Mingora, she lived with her two younger brothers, her parents, and two pet chickens.^[1]
Yousafzai was educated in large part by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, who is a poet, school owner and an educational activist himself, running a chain of schools known as the Khushal Public School.^[5] She once stated to an interviewer that she would like to become a doctor, though later her father encouraged her to become a politician instead.^[1] Ziauddin referred to his daughter as something entirely special, permitting her to stay up at night and talk about politics after her two brothers had been sent to bed.^[6]
Yousafzai started speaking about education rights as early as September 2008, when her father took her to Peshawar to speak at the local press club. "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?" Yousafzai asked her audience in a speech covered by newspapers and television channels throughout the region.^[7]

Personal details
Born	12 July 1997 (age 16) Mingora, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
Citizenship	Pakistan
Political party	None
Occupation	Pupil, blogger, activist
Religion	Sunni Islam
Ethnicity	Pashtun
Relatives	Ziauddin Yousafzai (father)
Known for	Women's rights activism, educationism, Taliban assassination attempt
Organizations	Malala Education Fund
Awards	National Youth Peace Prize (2011) Simone de Beauvoir Prize (2013)

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Arfa Karim's Biography

Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa (Urdu: ارفع کریم رندهاوا‎‎, 2 February 1995 – 14 January 2012) was a Pakistani student and computer prodigy who in 2004 at the age of nine years became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). She kept the title until 2008. Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums including the TechEd Developers Conference. She also received the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. A science park in Lahore, the Arfa Software Technology Park, was named after her.^[2][3][4][5] She was invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in the USA.^[6]

^{Early life and background}

 ^{Arfa was born into a family from the village of Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali in Faisalabad, Punjab. After returning to Pakistan from a visit to Microsoft headquarters, Arfa gave numerous television and newspaper interviews. S. Somasegar, the vice president of the Software Development Division, wrote about her in his blog.[5] On 2 August 2005, Arfa was presented the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz on the occasion of 113th birth anniversary of Fatima Jinnah.[7] She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award again in August 2005 from the President of Pakistan.[8] Arfa is also the recipient of the President's Award for Pride of Performance,[9] a civil award usually granted to people who have shown excellence in their respective fields over a long period of time. She is the youngest recipient of this award. Arfa was made brand ambassador for Pakistan Telecommunication Company's 3G Wireless Broadband service named EVO in January 2010.[10]}

Born	Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa 2 February 1995 Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Died	14 January 2012 (aged 16) Lahore, Pakistan
Resting place	Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali, Faisalabad
Residence	Lahore
Nationality	Pakistani
Education	A-level (first year)
Alma mater	Lahore Grammar School
Occupation	Student
Known for	World's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, 2004–2006[1]
Awards	Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal Salaam Pakistan Youth Award President's Pride of Performance

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Ayesha Takia's Biography

Ayesha Takia-Azmi (born on 10 April 1986) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. She made her film debut in Taarzan: The Wonder Car for which she won the Filmfare Best Debut Award in 2004. Her most recent commercial successful was the 2009 film Wanted (2009).^[1]

^{Early life and background}

Takia was born in Mumbai to a Gujarati father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her mother is half British and half Maharashtrian. She has a younger sister named Natasha who is three years younger than her.Takia attended St. Anthony’s High School, but never went to college because she started to work when she turned sixteen.

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Akshay Kumar's Biography

Akshay Kumar (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia^[3] on September 9, 1967)^[3] is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He has been nominated for Filmfare Awards several times, winning it two times. He has appeared in over 125 films.^[4] When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series", which included Khiladi (1992), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi (1997), International Khiladi (1999), Khiladi 420 (2000) and Khiladi 786 (2012), as well as other action films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Mohra (1994), Elaan (1994), Suhaag (1994), Sapoot (1996), Angaaray (1998), Keemat – They Are Back (1998) and Sangharsh (1999).^[5]
Later he also gained fame for his drama, romance and comic roles.^[6] He started becoming known for his performances in romance films like Yeh Dillagi (1994), Dhadkan (2000) and Namastey London (2007), as well as drama films such as Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005) and Patiala House (2011). His comic performances in comedy films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), Garam Masala (2005), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Singh Is Kinng (2008) met with acclaim. His success had soared in 2007, when he starred in four consecutive commercial hits. Kumar hit a rough patch since 2009 to 2011 but came back with two successes, Housefull 2 (2012) and Rowdy Rathore (2012) with both of them grossing over 100 crore (US$17 million). His other films like OMG (2012) and Special 26 (2013) were highly successful critically and commercially. On February 16, 2013, many media outlets reported that the boxoffice collection of Kumar films has crossed 2,000 crore (US$340 million) and till date is the only Bollywood actor to do so.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]} Having done so, he has established himself as a leading contemporary actor of Hindi cinema.
Apart from acting, Kumar has worked as a stunt actor; he has often performed many dangerous stunts in his films,^[14] which has earned him a reputation as the "Indian Jackie Chan".^[5] 2008 marked his television debut as the host of the show Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi. In 2009, Kumar founded the Hari Om Entertainment production company.^[15]
In 2008, the University of Windsor conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Law on Kumar in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema. The following year he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. In 2011 The Asian Awards honoured Kumar for his outstanding achievement in Cinema.^[6]

^{Early life and background}

Akshay Kumar was born in Amritsar in the Indian state of Punjab.^[3] His father was an army officer. His mother's name is Aruna Bhatia. From a very young age, he was recognised as a performer, particularly as a dancer. Kumar was raised in Delhi's Chandni Chowk neighbourhood before moving to Mumbai.^[16] In Mumbai, he lived in Koliwada, which was another Punjabi dominated area.^[16] He studied at Don Bosco School in Mumbai and then Guru Nanak Khalsa College in Mumbai.^[16] Akshay has one sister also, Alka Bhatia.^[17][18][19]
After having obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India,^[20] he studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand,^[16] where he learned Muay Thai^[20] and worked as a chef^[16] and waiter.^[20] He then came back to Mumbai, where he started teaching martial arts. One of his students happened to be a photographer and recommended him to do modelling. The student gave him a modelling assignment for a small company. For his two hours posing in front of the camera, Kumar got 5,000, compared to his previous monthly salary of 4,000. That was one of the main reasons why he chose to be a model. One morning he missed his flight for an ad-shoot at Bangalore. Disappointed with himself, he went for his usual rounds at various film studios with his portfolio. Luckily that same evening, Kumar was signed for a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.^[16]

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Saif Ali Khan's Biography

Saif Ali Khan (pronounced [ˈsɛːf əˈli ˈxaːn]; born Sajid Ali Khan^[2] August 16, 1970) is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the cricket player and last titular Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan, and actress Sharmila Tagore, a great-grandnephew of poet Rabindranath Tagore.
Having made his acting debut in 1992 with Yash Chopra's Parampara, Khan had his first success with the 1994 films Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Yeh Dillagi. After going through several years of decline throughout the 1990s, he rose into prominence with his performance in Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai (2001), which marked his professional turning point.^[3] His work in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Hum Tum (2004).
Khan subsequently had further mainstream success with films like Salaam Namaste (2005) and Race (2008) and starred in critically acclaimed projects such as Parineeta (2005), Being Cyrus and Omkara (2006).^[4] In 2009, Khan branched out into film production with his company Illuminati Films' first film Love Aaj Kal, which became a box-office success. These accomplishments have established him as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema.^[5] He was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India in 2010.^[6] Khan was married to actress Amrita Singh from 1991 to 2004, having two children together. In 2012, he married actress Kareena Kapoor on Oct 16, 2012 after a five-year relationship.^[7][8]

^{Early life and background}

Saif Ali Khan is of Muslim, Afghan ancestry through the Nawabs of Pataudi lineage from his father's side and of Bengali Tagore ancestry from his mother's side.^[9] His paternal grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, was the Nawab of Pataudi as well as an accomplished cricketer who played for England and then for India as the captain of the team.^[9] His paternal grandmother was Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal and his great-uncle was Pakistani general Sher Ali Khan Pataudi. His father was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, a former captain of the Indian cricket team and the ninth Nawab of Pataudi until the abolition of titles by India in 1971.^[9] Following the death of his father in 2011, Saif Ali Khan was proclaimed the Nawab of Pataudi by the villagers of Pataudi State in deference to tradition, although the title carries no official or legal significance.^[10]
Khan has two sisters, Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan.^[11] Khan's mother is Sharmila Tagore, a film actress and a member of Bengal's Tagore family. She is the head of the Indian film censorship board^[12] and the grand-niece of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.^[13]
Khan initially studied at the Lawrence School, Sanawar^[14] and later attended Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire. He then followed in his father's

footsteps by attending Winchester College, an independent school for boys in the UK. Khan can speak his native languages of Urdu/Hindi and Bengali fluently, as well as English.^[15]

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Biography

Aishwarya Rai (Tulu pronunciation [əjɕʋərjaː rəj]; born 1 November 1973), also known as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is an Indian film actress and model. She was the first runner-up of the Miss India pageant, and the winner of the Miss World pageant of 1994. She is a leading contemporary actress of Indian cinema and has received two Filmfare Awards, two Screen Awards, and two IIFA Awards for her performances in Hindi language films of Bollywood. Rai is regarded as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India, and is often cited in the media as the "most beautiful woman in the world".^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}
Rai made her acting debut in the 1997 biographical film Iruvar and starred in the commercially successful 1998 film Jeans. She earned wide public recognition and Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her leading roles in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 1999 melodrama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and the 2002 period film Devdas. She gained critical appreciation for her portrayal of Tagore's heroine Binodini in Rituparno Ghosh's 2003 film Chokher Bali, and a depressed woman in Ghosh's 2004 relationship drama Raincoat. Following a series of commercially unsuccessful films, Rai featured in the 2006 blockbuster adventure film Dhoom 2, the 2008 historical romance Jodhaa Akbar, and the 2010 science fiction film Enthiran. She garnered wide critical acclaim for her work in Bhansali's 2010 romantic drama Guzaarish.
Following a tumultuous relationship with actor Salman Khan, Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007. Her off-screen roles include duties as a brand ambassador for several charity organisations and campaigns; she is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). She was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009, and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012.

Early life and background

Rai was born into an ethnic Bunt^[9] family in Mangalore, Karnataka.^[10] Her father, Krishnaraj, was a marine biologist, while her mother, Brindya, is a housewife.^[1] She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant navy. He co-produced one of her movies, Dil Ka Rishta (2003).^[11] Rai's values and lifestyle were influenced by her family, and even as her fame continues to rise, she holds strong to a religious, value-based life, influenced early on by her parents.^[12]
The family moved to Mumbai, where Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir High School.^[1] Rai did her intermediate schooling at Jai Hind College for a year,^[13] and then joined DG Ruparel College^[14] in Matunga, securing 90 percent in the HSC exams.^[1][15] She trained in classical dance and music for five years during her teens.^[15] Her favourite subject was zoology, so she initially considered a career in medicine but was unsuccessful later on.^[15] Then with plans to become an architect, she enrolled at Raheja College, but later gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling.^[13] In 1991, Rai won a supermodel contest (organised by Ford) and was eventually featured in the American edition of Vogue.^[14][16] After abandoning an idea to pursue a career in medicine, Rai enrolled for a course in architecture at the Raheja College of Arts.^[15] However, she dropped out of college to pursue a full-time career as a model.^[13]
In 1993, Rai gained public recognition for her appearance in a Pepsi commercial with actor Aamir Khan.^[16][17] In the 1994 Miss India she won second place, behind Sushmita Sen, and was crowned Miss India World.^[18] With Sen representing India at the Miss Universe pageant, Aishwarya's duties as the first alternate included representing India in the rival Miss World Pageant, held that year in Sun City, South Africa. She went on to win the Miss World^[19] title the same year, where she also won the "Miss Photogenic" award and Miss World Continental Queen of Beauty − Asia & Oceania.^[20] After winning the pageant, Rai spoke of her dream for peace for this world, and her desire to be an ambassador of peace during her one-year reign in London.^[18][21] In 2000, she was named the "Most Beautiful Miss. World" of all time.^[12] Rai continued to pursue a career as a model until she became an actress.^[22]

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Shahid Kapoor's Biography

Shahid Kapoor (born Shahid Khattar on February 25 1981) is an Indian film actor. He started his career by working in music videos and advertisements, and made his Bollywood debut with Ishq Vishk (2003) and won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance. He followed it with films like Fida (2004) and Shikhar (2005), and had his first major commercial success with Sooraj R. Barjatya's Vivah (2006, his biggest economic success to date). His performances in Jab We Met (2007) and Kaminey (2009) earned him nominations for the Filmfare Best Actor Award.^[1][2]

Early life and background

Kapoor was born to actor Pankaj Kapur and actor/classical dancer Neelima Azeem on 25 February 1981. Kapoor's parents divorced when he was 3. He continued living with his mother and maternal grandparents in Press Enclave, Saket in Delhi. He shares a cordial relationship with his father and stepmother Supriya Pathak.^[3]
As a child, he studied in the school Gyan Bharathi in Delhi until the forth grade, where he shifted to Rajhans Vidyalaya, Mumbai.^[4] Kapoor has three half siblings: a sister named Sanah Kapur and brothers named Ishaan Khattar and Ruhaan Kapur; Ishaan acted with him in the movie Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi (2005). His maternal grandfather was Anwar Azeem, a noted Marxist journalist and author from Bihar.^[5] His great great grandfather was the film director, screenwriter, Urdu novelist and journalist Khwaja Ahmad Abbas more popularly known as K. A. Abbas. K.A. Abbas in turn was the grandson of Hali, the chief protégé of Urdu poet, Ghalib.^[6][7]

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Aamir Khan's Biography

Aamir Khan (pronounced [ˈaːmɪr ˈxaːn]) (born: Aamir Hussain Khan on 14 March 1965) is an Indian film actor, director, and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema.^[1][2]
Starting his career as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Khan began his professional career eleven years later with Holi (1984) and had his first commercial success with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). He received his first National Film Award as a Special Jury Award for his roles in the films Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Raakh (1989).^[3] After eight previous nominations during the 1980s and 1990s, Khan received his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the major grosser Raja Hindustani (1996)^[4][5] and later earned his second Best Actor award for his performance in the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan, which also marked the debut of his own production company.
Following a four-year break from acting, Khan made his comeback playing the title role in the historical drama Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), and later won a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his role in Rang De Basanti (2006). The following year, he made his directorial debut with Taare Zameen Par, for which he received the Filmfare Award for Best Director. This was followed by the thriller Ghajini (2008), which became the highest grossing film of that year, and the comedy 3 Idiots (2009), which became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time.^[6]
On 30 November 2011, Khan was appointed as national brand ambassador of UNICEF to promote child nutrition.^[7] He is part of the government organised IEC campaign to raise awareness about malnutrition.^[8]
The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan in 2010 for his contributions towards the arts.^[9][10][11] In April 2013, he was among TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World List.^[12][13]

^{Early life and background}

^{Khan was born in Bandra's Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, India, to a family that has been actively involved in the Indian motion picture industry for several decades. His father, Tahir Hussain, was a film producer while his uncle, Nasir Hussain, was a film producer as well as a director and an actor.[14] Aamir Khan's mother is Zeenat Hussain.[15][16][17] His siblings are Faisal Khan, Farhat Khan and Nikhat Khan. Imran Khan is the nephew of Aamir Khan. Aamir Khan belongs to the family of Indian freedom fighter Abul Kalam Azad. He is also a descendant of former President of India, Dr. Zakir Hussain He is also a second cousin to former Chairperson of Rajya Sabha and the current vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Dr Najma Heptullah.[18][19][20] His father, Tahir Hussain, died on 3 February 2010.[21]}

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Salman Khan's Biography

Salman Khan (pronunciation : [səlˈmaːn ˈxaːn]; born Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan on 27 December 1965)^[2] is an Indian film actor, producer, television presenter, and philanthropist. The son of actor and screenwriter Salim Khan, Khan began his acting career with Biwi Ho To Aisi but it was his second film Maine Pyar Kiya in which he acted in a lead role that garnered him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. Khan has starred in several commercially successful films, such as Saajan (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Karan Arjun (1995), Judwaa (1997), Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998), Biwi No.1 (1999), and Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), having appeared in the highest grossing film nine separate years during his career, a record that remains unbroken.^[3]
In 1999, Khan won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his extended guest appearance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). In 2011, he won the Screen Award for Best Actor for his performance in Dabangg and in 2012, he won the Best Actor Popular Choice for his performances in Ek Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2. Eight of the films he has acted in, have accumulated gross earnings of over 100 crore (US$17 million) worldwide.^[4][5] He played leading roles in five consecutive blockbusters including Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, and Dabangg 2. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films and thus far^[6] has established himself as a leading actor of Hindi cinema.^[7]

Early life

Khan is the eldest son of screenwriter Salim Khan and his first wife Salma (née Sushila Charak). His paternal grandfather was a Muslim from Afghanistan^[8][9] who immigrated to India and settled in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Charak is a surname of Dogra Rajput clan. Khan belongs to Pathan Muslim family through his father while Khan's mother is reported to be a Dogra Hindu. His family celebrate Islamic and Hindu festivals such as Maha Shivaratri and Ganesh Chaturthi.^[10][11] In 2010 Khan said that he is "half Muslim and half Hindu".^[12] His stepmother is Helen, a former actress, who has co-starred with him in a few films. He has two brothers, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan, and two sisters, Alvira and Arpita. Alvira is married to actor/director Atul Agnihotri. Khan finished his schooling at St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra, Mumbai, as did his younger brothers Arbaaz and Sohail. Earlier, he studied at The Scindia School, Gwalior for a few years along with younger brother Arbaaz.^[13][14]

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Shahrukh Khan's Biography

"Shahrukh" redirects here. For the Timurid dynasty ruler, see Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty). For Iranian king, see Shahrukh Afshar.

"King of Bollywood" redirects here. For the film, see King of Bollywood (film).

Shahrukh Khan (born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan and informally referred as SRK, is an Indian film actor. Referred to in the media as "Badshah of Bollywood", "King Khan" and "King of Romance", Khan has acted in 75 Hindi films in genres ranging from romantic dramas to action thrillers.^[4][5][6][7] His contributions to the film industry have garnered him numerous achievements, including fourteen Filmfare Awards from thirty nominations. His eighth Filmfare Best Actor Award win made him the most awarded Bollywood actor of all time in that category, tied only with actor Dilip Kumar. In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian cinema.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics, he started his career appearing in theatre and several television serials in the late 1980s and later made his Hindi film debut in 1992 with Deewana. Early in his career, Khan was recognised for his unconventional choice of portraying negative roles in films such as Darr (1993), Baazigar (1993), and Anjaam (1994). He later rose to prominence by playing a series of romantic roles in the films Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995).,^[8] Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998).^[9] The commercial success of these films earned him the tag of "the King of Romance".^[8] Khan then subsequently earned wide critical appreciation for his portrayal of a NASA scientist in Swades (2004), a hockey coach in Chak De! India (2007), and as the titular character in My Name Is Khan (2010).^[10][11] 12 of the films he has acted in, have accumulated gross earnings of over 100 crore (US$17 million) worldwide,^[12][13] making him one of the most successful leading actors of Hindi cinema.^[14]
Khan is the co-founder of Dreamz Unlimited, a production company and occupies the position of co-chairman of the motion picture production and distribution company Red Chillies Entertainment and the animation studio Red Chillies VFX. He is also co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders.^[15] The year 2007 marked his debut as a television presenter with the Star Plus gaming show Kaun Banega Crorepati.^[16] Khan is often labelled by the media as "Brand SRK" due to his various brand endorsement and entrepreneurship ventures. He is also a regular stage performer and award ceremony host and has been involved in philanthropic endeavors related to Health care, relief funds and children's education, for which he was honoured with the UNESCO's Pyramide con Marni award in 2011.^[17][18]
Khan is considered to be one of the biggest film stars in cinematic history, with a fan following claimed to number in the billions; in 2011, the Los Angeles Times called him "the world's biggest movie star."^[19] He has also been regularly featured in the listing of the most powerful names in Indian Cinema and in 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.^[5] Khan has an estimated net worth of over US $600 million(25 billion).^{[20][21][22][23]}

Early life and background

Khan was born on 2 November 1965 in New Delhi, India.^[24][25] His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, a Pathan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar, British India, present day Pakistan. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan.^[26] His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served in the Indian National Army.^[27] Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India,^[28] Regarding his origins, he described himself on Twitter as "half hyderabadi (mom) half Pathan (Dad) some kashmiri (grandmom)"^[29] His father died from cancer when Khan was 15 years old, and his mother died in 1990 after prolonged illness.^[30][31] Khan was very attached to his parents as a child and describes their early deaths as a turning point in his life and as his biggest motivation for hard work. He explained that his ideology in life is "... to make movies so damn bloody big...that my parents somewhere sit down on a star and from there also can look at their son and say 'I can see his movies from here better than I can see the Wall of China or anything. We see his movies covering the face of this earth'."^[32] Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.^[33]
Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood of Delhi,^[34] Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985–1988) and earned his Bachelors degree in Economics. When Hansraj College celebrated its 50th anniversary, it gave away 17 shields to its alumni who had excelled in their lives and professions. Khan was one of them. Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to pursue a career in Bollywood.^[35] He also attended the National School of Drama in Delhi.^[36]
After the death of his mother, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991.^[37]He married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991.^[30] According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Islam, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with theQur'an being situated next to the Hindu deities.^[38]They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). In 2013 they became parents of a third child named Abram^[39] via a surrogate mother.^[40][41]

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