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Muhammad Ali Jinnah born on 25 of December, 1876 in Karachi and died on 11 September, 1948 was a Muslim Politician and Great leader of the All India Muslim League. He founded the Pakistan and served as its first Governor-General. He is also know in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) and and Baba-e-Qaum (Father of the Nation). Jinnah birthday is a national holiday in Pakistan.

He studied in Bombay and London, was called to the bar in 1897, and practised in Bombay. He became a member of the Indian National Congress (1906) and the Muslim League (1913), and supported Hindu–Muslim unity until 1930, when he resigned from the Congress in opposition to Gandhi’s policy of civil disobedience. His advocacy of a separate state for Muslims led to the creation of Pakistan in 1947, and he became its first governor-general.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah died on September 11, 1948 from a combination of tuberculosis and lung cancer. His funeral was followed by the construction of a massive mausoleum—Mazar-e-Quaid—in Karachi to honour him; official and military ceremonies are hosted there on special occasions.

  

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Mira Nair born on October 15, 1957 at Rourkela, India is an India-born, New York-based film director. Her production company is Mirabai Films.

She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay!, won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and was also nominated for an Oscar. She often works with longtime creative collaborator, screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala, whom she met at Harvard.

Mira’s first film was Jama Masjid Street Journal which was also her Master’s thesis project. This film explores the life of a traditional Muslim community from the Western perspective. Her most acclaimed documentary was India Cabaret. Ultimately, the standards of objectivity and non interference inherent in documentary film proved to be a trying constraint. She told the West Side Spirit writer, “While I was working in documentary I was impatient sometimes, many times, with waiting for something to happen and not having it happen like I hoped it would.” She goes on to say that she wanted “a lot more control over gesture and drama and faces” in her work (qtd. in CurBio 424). As result she tried her hand at fictional narrative. Her greatest recognition came with her first feature film Salaam, Bombay! She was awarded the Best New Director at the Cannes Film Festival as well as a nomination for best foreign film at the Academy Awards.

Nair’s next film, Mississippi Masala, an interracial love story set in the American South and Uganda, starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury, won three awards at the Venice Film Festival including Best Screenplay and The Audience Choice Award. Subsequent films include The Perez Family (with Marisa Tomei, Anjelica Huston, Alfred Molina and Chazz Palminteri), about an exiled Cuban family in Miami; and the sensuous Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, which she directed and co-wrote.

Nair directed My Own Country based on Dr. Abraham Verghese’s best-selling memoir about a young immigrant doctor dealing with the AIDS epidemic. Made in 1998, My Own Country starred Naveen Andrews, Glenne Headly, Marisa Tomei, Swoosie Kurtz, and Hal Holbrook, and was awarded the NAACP award for best fiction feature.

Nair returned to the documentary form in August 1999 with The Laughing Club of India, which was awarded The Special Jury Prize in the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels 2000.

In the summer of 2000, Nair shot Monsoon Wedding in 30 days, a story of a Punjabi wedding starring Naseeruddin Shah and an ensemble of Indian actors. The film opened to tremendous critical acclaim and commercial success and went on to win the Golden Lion at the 2001 Venice Film Festival and receive Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for Best Foreign Language Film.

Nair’s next film, Hysterical Blindness, gave HBO its highest original film ratings in three years. Set in working class New Jersey in 1987, the film stars Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis, Gena Rowlands, and Ben Gazarra. Over 15 million viewers watched Blindness on HBO and critics recognized the film with a Golden Globe for Uma Thurman and three Emmy Awards (including Best Supporting Actress for Rowlands and Best Supporting Actor for Gazarra).

Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Nair joined a group of 11 renowned filmmakers, each commissioned to direct a film that was 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame long. Nair’s film is a retelling of real events in the life of the Hamdani family in Queens, whose eldest son was missing after September 11, and was then accused by the media of being a terrorist. 11.09.01 is the true story of a mother’s search for her son who did not return home on that fateful day.

In 2003, Nair produced “Still the Children Are Here,” an intimate documentary by Dinaz Stafford about the Garo peoples of Meghalaya, India.

In May 2003, Nair directed the Focus Features production of the William Thackeray classic, Vanity Fair, a provocative period tale set in Georgian England, filmed entirely on location in the UK and India. Reese Witherspoon stars as Becky Sharp, a woman who defies her poverty-stricken background to clamber up the social ladder; Jim Broadbent, Bob Hoskins, Eileen Atkins, Gabriel Byrne, and Rhys Ifans round up the stellar ensemble cast.

Nair was appointed as the mentor in film by the prestigious Rolex Protégé Arts Initiative, joining fellow mentors Jessye Norman, Sir Peter Hall, David Hockney, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Saburo Teshigawara to help guide young artists in critical stages of their development.

In 2005, Mira Nair adapted and directed Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake with Fox Searchlight, which premiered in theatres worldwide to rave reviews in March 2007. In January 2007, Ms. Nair directed Migration, one of four short films by acclaimed Indian film directors, to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic in India. Migration will open as part of the four film series, AIDS JAAGO, at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Next up, Nair is slated to direct Shantaram with Warner Brothers, starring Johnny Depp later this year.

  

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This brilliant actress was born on 12th September 1988 in the Indian state of Gujarat. She completed her schooling from Surat in Gujarat and then moved to finish her studies from Pune. She had barely managed to complete her junior college when she got a call from the Balaji Production house for the audition of the role of Bani in the then to-be-launched soap ‘Kasamh Se’. Acting was her passion since childhood so she could not help herself but made her entry in the glamour world in such a tender age.

Prachi Desai is a very popular name in the world of television in the recent times. She has conquered the heart of millions by her character portrayal of Bani Walia in the very popular Balaji show ‘Kasamh Se’. From Punjabi ‘kuris’ to Americanised Indians Prachi Desai has managed to rule the hearts of one and all. In this particular serial she has inspired many teenage girls by the facing all the adversities of her life single-handedly.

Her strong willed character in the serial ‘Kasamh Se’ has become the role model for many teenage girls who are desperate to carve their identity by themselves.

In her personal life she is a happy-go-lucky person and likes to live her life on her own terms. She puts up at Lokhandwala with her mother Ameeta Desai. Her hobbies include sports, acting, listening to music and sketching. Her elder sister Esha is her best friend with whom she shares a very friendly rapport. In the near future she also plans to try her luck in Bollywood movies and claims that she would like to act in a serious movie. Her mantra in life is ‘Rise even higher’. If she were given to describe her character in five words her choice of words would be bubbly, naughty, ambitious, hardworking and also like her character of Bani in ‘Kasamh Se’. Ekta Kapoor however describes her as “an over grown baby”. She claims “I am happy to get a chance so early in my life”. She claims that she has won the hearts of many by her acting skills and now she aims to win the hearts of many youngsters by her dancing skills. Her fans however wish her all the best for her future endeavors.

In 2007 she also got fame by winning the popular Sony TV’s dance show “Jhalak Dikhla Jaa”.

  

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Country music singer, musician, and songwriter, born in Maynardville, Tennessee, USA, 15 September 1903 and died on 23 November 1992 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA with congestive heart failure.

Roy Claxton Acuff was a crooning fiddle player from the mountains of Tennessee who became one of country music’s biggest stars. Acuff, a gifted athlete, started out to be a baseball player before a bad case of sunstroke ended his career in the minor leagues. He began performing on the radio in 1933 with his backing band, the Tennessee Crackerjacks, and by 1936 they were making records and performing throughout the region.

During World War 2 he was hugely popular and became known as ‘the King of Country Music’, touring the USA and appearing in several films. His unique singing style influenced such musicians as Hank Williams, and among his most famous songs are ‘The Great Speckled Bird’ and ‘Wabash Cannon Ball’ (both 1936).

Although his style of country music was less popular by the late 1950s, he continued to appear on the ‘Grand Ole Opry’. He was co-owner of Acuff-Rose, a music publishing company, and he remained active in Tennessee Republican politics.

Besides his distinctive “hillbilly” voice, Acuff’s sound included a dobro (a Hawaiian guitar)… He was the (losing) Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee in the election of 1948.

  

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Artemus Ward Acord born of April 17, 1890 Stillwater, Oklahoma, and died on January 4, 1931 in Chihuahua, Mexico in was an American silent film actor and rodeo champion. has the distinction of being one of the very few real cowboys to play one in early westerns. Acord was a wild one who began riding the rodeo in Wild West shows at the turn-of-the-century.

Born to Mormon parents in Prattsville, Utah, Acord as a young man worked as a cowboy and ranch hand. He went on to become one of the first true stars of western films. A celebrated rodeo star, Acord not only acted but also wrote scripts and performed as a stunt man. He won the Steer Bulldogging world championship in 1912 and repeated as champion in 1916, defeating challenger and friend Hoot Gibson. His rodeo skills had been sharpened when he worked for a time for Miller’s 101 Ranch Real Wild West Show. It was with the 101 that he made friends with Tom Mix, Bee Ho Gray, “Broncho Billy” Anderson and Hoot Gibson, all cowboys of the silver screen.

Acord enlisted in the United States Army in World War I and served overseas. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre for bravery. At war’s end, he returned to the motion picture business, appearing in a series of popular film shorts and as “Buck Parvin”, the title character for a Universal Pictures serial.

Because of a heavy drinking problem and his inability to adapt to the advent of talkies, Acord’s film career faded, and he ended up performing in road shows and mining in Mexico. Shortly before his death, Acord appears to have attempted to orchestrate his own kidnapping as a publicity stunt.

In 1931 Acord was found dead in his Chihuahua, Mexico hotel room. Apparently he’d taken cyanide, but some of Acord’s friends over the years insisted that he had been murdered by a Mexican politician who had caught Acord having an affair with his wife.

During his life, Art Acord made over 100 film shorts, all but a few of which have been lost. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Acord has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1709 Vine Street.

  

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Harry Ackerman Born on November 17, 1912, in Albany, NY; died of pulmonary failure, February 3,1991, in Burbank, CA. Producer was a famed TV executive producer at Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures.

During his career Ackerman supervised the production elements of several popular television series, including Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Show, and I Love Lucy. From 1958 through 1972, under the command of Ackerman as Vice President of Production, Screen Gems delivered the classic sitcoms: Father Knows Best, Dennis the Menace, The Donna Reed Show, Hazel, Gidget, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Flying Nun, The Monkees, and The Partridge Family.

Harry Ackerman won two Emmy Awards for his work, and was the first producer ever honored by the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters at their 1974 luncheon. For his work on television, Ackerman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6661 Hollywood Blvd.

The Harry Ackerman Collection of personal papers was donated to the Dartmouth College Library in 1994 as a gift from Ackerman’s widow, actress Elinor Donahue. Harry Ackerman, a Class of 1935 graduate, was one of the most prolific producers in the history of television, having created or co-created and produced a total of 21 television series, seven of which were on the air simultaneously.

He developed and producedLeave It to Beaver, co-created Bewitched–two series that remain popular in reruns–and was involved in the production of Studio Oneand Suspense. Ackerman held several administrative positions with theCBS network, and he also worked for Screen Gems (now Columbia Pictures Television) and Paramount. In addition, he was president of his own company, HarryAckerman Productions.

  

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William Alexander “Bud” Abbott born on October 2, 1897 in Asbury Park, New Jersey, was an American actor, producer and comedian.

American comedian Bud Abbott was the tall, bullying member of the popular comedy team Abbott and Costello. The son of circus employees, Abbott entered show business as a burlesque show producer, then took to the stage himself as straight man for a number of comedians.

Abbott worked in carnivals while still a child and dropped out of school in 1909. He worked as assistant treasurer for the Casino Theater in Brooklyn, then as treasurer or manager of various theaters around the country. He worked as straight man to vaudeville performers such as Harry Steepe and Harry Evanson while managing the National Theater in Detroit.

After working in burlesque, in radio, and on Broadway, Abbott and Costello made their movie debut in One Night in the Tropics (1940). Their first starring picture was Buck Privates (1941), a box-office bonanza which catapulted the team to “top moneymaker” status for the next 15 years; in all, Abbott and Costello made 36 feature films.

In the 1950s they brought their comedy to live television on the Colgate Comedy Hour, and launched their own half-hour series, The Abbott and Costello Show. The team’s popularity waned in the 1950s, and Abbott and Costello parted ways in 1957. Lou Costello died in 1959.

Abbott attempted to begin performing again in 1960, with a new partner, Candy Candido, and received good reviews. But Abbott called it quits, remarking that “No one could ever live up to Lou.” On TV, he performed in a dramatic episode of General Electric Theater titled “The Joke’s On Me” in 1961. A few years later Bud provided his own voice for the Hanna-Barbera animated series Abbott and Costello, with Stan Irwin providing the voice of Lou Costello. Bud and Betty were married for 55 years. The couple adopted two children: Bud, Jr. in 1942, and Vickie in 1949. Bud Jr. died in 1997.

Bud Abbott has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: radio star, motion pictures star, and TV star. Bud Abbott suffered from epilepsy and died of cancer at the age of 76 (reported as 78) on April 24, 1974 in Woodland Hills, California. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean

  

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Vaira Vikis-Freibergs was born on 1 December 1937 in Riga, Latvia. was the 6th President of Latvia and first female President of Latvia. She was elected President of Latvia in 1999 and reelected in 2003. She has been succeeded by Valdis Zatlers, who was elected President of Latvia on 31 May 2007.

At the end of 1944, as Soviet occupation of Latvia begun, Vike’s parents escaped to Germany. There she received her first education in Latvian primary school at refugee camp in Lübeck, Germany. Then her family moved to French Morocco in 1949. In Morocco she attended French primary school at Daourat hydroelectric dam village where she learned French. Vike then went on to attend Collège de jeunes filles de Mers-Sultan in Casablanca. In 1954 her family moved to Toronto, Canada. There she completed Grade 13 and received her high school diploma. In 1958 she was accepted as a student at the University of Toronto. She firstly achieved a BA in psychology in 1958 and followed it with an MA in 1960. while working full time in Canadian Bank of Commerce as a teller. In 1957–1960 she worked part time as a supervisor in Branksome Hall Boarding School for Girls. In 1958, being fluent in English, French, Latvian, Spanish and German, she worked as a Spanish translator and next year went on to work as a Spanish teacher for grades 12 and 13 at Ontario Ladies’ College. Upon leaving the University of Toronto, Vike became a clinical psychologist at the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital in late 1960. She left in 1961 to resume her education at the McGill University in Montreal where she earned her PhD in experimental psychology, leaving the University in 1965.

In 1998, Ms Vike-Freiberga received an invitation she couldn’t refuse – to head the new Latvian Institute, established to raise the profile of Latvia and the Latvians around the world.

She returned to a country facing many problems in its efforts to build a Western-style democracy and market economy. In a meteoric rise in her new career as a politician, Ms Vike-Freiberga was elected president within a year. Vaira Vike-Freiberga was succeeded on 8 July 2007 by Valdis Zatlers, who was elected President of Latvia on 31 May 2007. On 18 July 2007 she founded the company VVF Consulting together with her husband. She is now on her second, four-year term as head of state.

As recently as 2000, there seemed to be little realistic prospect of Latvia’s early entry into either the EU or Nato. Latvia’s progress was uneven. A high level of corruption was causing concern in the West. There were lingering doubts over the country’s commitment to democracy, as well as deep anger among Jewish organisations at the country’s apparent dismissal of the crimes committed by those Latvians who collaborated with the Nazis in the war.

Latvia’s discriminatory policies towards its Russian minority – 30% of the population – seemed vindictive.

Latvia is now a considerably different country. It is politically stable, democratic and enjoying steady economic growth. The country has carried out a wide-ranging programme of economic and military reform.

That has been accompanied by a crackdown on corruption and efforts to bring Latvian legislation up to European standards. Even relations with Russia have begun to emerge from the deep-freeze.

Ms Vike-Freiberga has overcome strong “Eurosceptic” sentiment to make membership of the EU a reality.

  

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Tarja Halonen was born on 24 December 1943 in the district of Kallio, Helsinki, Finland traditionally a working-class area, the daughter of Vieno Olavi Halonen and Lyyli Elina Loimola.

She is the eleventh and current President of Finland. She began her first six-year term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on January 29, 2006. Her current term expires in 2012. She is the first woman to hold the office.

She obtained a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki in 1968. Halonen served as the Social Affairs Secretary and General Secretary of the National Union of Students (SYL) from 1969 to 1970 and, partly due to having held this position, she obtained a post as a lawyer with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) from 1970 to 1974. She joined the Social Democratic Party in 1971.

Like many young people of the 1960s, Halonen became involved in leftist causes and once counted activist Che Guevara among her heroes. She attended the University of Helsinki and graduated with a master of laws degree in 1968. The following year, Halonen worked as the social affairs and general secretary of the National Union of Finnish Students. In 1970, she became an attorney with the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions.

President Halonen’s interests include art history, the theatre and swimming. She also enjoys drawing and painting, and she has two cats named Miska and Rontti. She speaks Finnish, Swedish, English, German, French, Afrikaans, and Estonian.

On August 26, 2000, President Halonen married her longtime partner, Dr Pentti Arajarvi, in a civil ceremony at her official residence, Mantyniemi, after a relationship of more than fifteen years. Halonen’s adult daughter Anna, and Arajarvi’s adult son, Esko, acted as witnesses. Both children were from previous relationships. While in Finland her relationship was not an issue, the marriage clarified the position of Dr. Arajarvi abroad.

Anna Halonen is the daughter of President Halonen and her former partner, Kari Pekkonen. She is currently studying international politics at the University of Kent in Canterbury, Great Britain.

  

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Isabel Peron was born María Estela Martinez Cartas on February 4, 1931, in La Rioja, a provincial capital in the impoverished mountainous region of northwestern Argentina, became the first female president in Latin America when she assumed the Argentine presidency from 1974 to 1976 upon the death of her husband, Juan Peron. Her term in office was characterized by political violence and economic instability until she was finally overthrown by the military.

Her father, a local bank manager, died when she was still a young child. By the time of her father’s death, the family had moved to Buenos Aires, where she studied piano, dance, and French, although she was not able to finish her formal education.

After leaving school she became a dancer, performing in folk music groups, night clubs, and finally the ballet corps of two leading theaters in Buenos Aires. She acquired the name Isabel on her confirmation in the Catholic Church and later adopted it as her professional name when she began her dancing career.

In 1956, while on tour with a dance troupe through Latin America, she met Juan Peron, who had recently been ousted from the Argentine presidency after roughly ten years in power. Giving up her career as a dancer, she became Peron’s personal secretary and accompanied him into exile in Madrid, where the two were married in 1961.

In 2007 an Argentine judge ordered the arrest of Isabel Peron over the forced disappearance of an activist in February 1976, on the grounds that the disappearance was authorised by her signing of three decrees allowing Argentina’s armed forces to take action against “subversives.”

  

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Golda Meir born as Goldie Mabovitch on May 3, 1898 was the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel.

After serving as the Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister, Golda Meir became Prime Minister of Israel on March 17, 1969. She was described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics years before the epithet became associated with British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Golda Meir moved from Kiev to Milwaukee in 1906 with her family. In Milwaukee, she became a teacher and an active Zionist, and from there she moved to Palestine with her husband, Morris Myerson, where they lived on a kibbutz, taking part in the creation of a Jewish homeland. Golda Meir became an officer of the Histadrut Trade Union and was active in politics.

In 1948, Golda Meir was appointed a member of the Provisional Government. After independence, she became the Ambassador to the Soviet Union, and in 1949 was elected to the Knesset and served as Minister of Labor 1949-1956 and Foreign Minister 1956-1966. Golda Meir was the Secretary General of the new Labor Party and on the sudden death of Levi Eshkol in 1969, she became Premier at age 70.

The Yom Kippur War was fought during her term as prime minister, beginning with the Egyptian and Syrian assaults of October 6, 1973. After the end of the war, Golda Meir resigned (1974) and Yitzhak Rabin assumed the office of prime minister.

On December 8, 1978, Golda Meir died of cancer in Jerusalem at the age of 80. She was buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on December 12, 1978.

  

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Sri Lankan (Ceylonese) prime minister (1960-5, 1970-77, 1994-2000), born in Ratnapura, S Sri Lanka. Following the assassination of her husband, S W R D Bandaranaike, in 1959, she became leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, won the Ceylon general election (1960), and became the world’s first woman prime minister.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike (born 1916) became the first woman prime minister in the world when she was chosen to head the Sri Lankan Freedom Party government in 1960, following the assassination of her husband. She pursued policies of nonalignment abroad and democratic socialism at home.

She held the position for a second time following independence, and again in 1994. Her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunge became president of Sri Lanka, having previously been prime minister for a few months.

  

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Feroz Khan sometimes spelled as Firoz Khan or Feroze Khan is one of Bollywood’s famous actors, film editor, producer and director. He is the father of the young and popular actor Fardeen Khan.

Firoz was born in Bangalore, India on September 25, 1939 to a Afghan father, Sadiq Khan (Naib Khel) and an Iranian mother, Fatima. He has three brothers Sanjay Khan, Sameer Khan and Akbar Khan. After his schooling from Bangalore, he arrived in Bombay where he made his debut as second lead in Didi (1960). Both Sanjay and Akbar are actors within their own rights, while Sameer is a film-maker and assists in their Golden Palms Spa located in Bangalore.

His noteworthy movies are Oonche Log, Main Wohi Hoon, Aag, Mela, Upasna, Aprsdh. He became even more popular after the release of Dharmatma, Qurbani, Jaanbaaz, & Dayavan. he got an award for his role in Aadmi Aur Insaan.

He likes sports-car races and has included this sport in Apradh and then again in Janasheen. He prefers his character name to be either Rajesh or Rakesh. He is a worshipper of Bhagwan Shri Sai Baba and always wears a gold ring on his finger and has a picture close to him. Sai Baba is revered and worshiped by Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus in India.

He got married to Sundari in 1965 and they became proud parents of Laila and Fardeen. Despite objections raised by an Islamic Moulvi, Feroz and Sanjay got their children married to non-Islamic families. Laila was married to Rajpal, while Fardeen married Natasha Madhwani, the daughter of Mayur and former Bollywood hottie Mumtaz. Sundari and Feroz have been divorced since 1985.

Feroz has kept away from controversies, though he did get himself banned by the conservative Pakistani government.

Feroz Khan on 27th April 2009 lost his battle with cancer and passed away at his farmhouse in Bangalore.

  

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Smriti Irani was born, the eldest of three sisters to a Delhi based family. Her father owned a courier business and her mother is a Bengali, related to Tripti Mitra a well known Bengali actress of yesteryears.

Smriti Malhotra is one of the most popular stars of the Indian Television Screen. Her television bonding with the Ekta Kapoor produced soap opera ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ has brought her so much stardom as to give her the opportunity of contesting Chandni Chowk constituency of the Indian capital city New Delhi. Although she lost the election her ability to combine her work with social issues by prominently featuring in talk shows brings her in media limelight once and often.

She married her childhood best friend Zubin Irani. She is the mother of little Zohr Irani and Zoish Irani, and step mother to Shanelle Irani who is Zubin’s daughter from an earlier marriage with model coordinator Mona Irani. In a interview Smriti said she was happy marry to Zubin and had a good friendship with his ex-wife Mona Irani.

Smriti began her career at the age of 16, participating in small plays. She gave up her full-time college education and switched to correspondence education in order to be able to do what was close to her heart: acting.

At 18, she told her father that she wanted to come to Mumbai to work. In 1998, she entered the Miss India contest without the knowledge of anyone in her family and was surprised to be short-listed and came to Mumbai to participate in the finals. Her father was astounded at her decision to enter the contest. No one believed she could make it to the finals. She borrowed Rs 2 lakh from her father on the condition that she would return it. She came to Mumbai and began preparations to enter the final of the contest with earnestness. She had her contest outfit designed and made by Manish Malhotra. She made it to the final round becoming one of the final five contestants.

Desperate to pay her loan back, she appeared for the Jet Airways hostess interview. Her sister, who also applied, got the job but Smriti was rejected. She then took a counter job at McDonalds, serving burgers and swabbing the floors and cleaning tables. Throughout these months of desperation, she kept visiting various agencies, doing auditions and portfolios and leaving her pictures at every TV production company. She was present in the Famous Studio in Mumbai for auditions every day but no one took her seriously.

Finally, lady luck began to shine on her. She was chosen to do the black and white commercial for Whisper. Next, she anchored a show called Filmi Batein for In Mumbai and Etc. channels. Shrey Guleri of Prime Channel saw these appearances on television and called her. As a result, she did some episodes of the show called Bakeman’s Oh La La. Shobha Kapoor in turn saw these and she asked her to meet Ekta at Balaji Telefilms. Smriti met Ekta and as time passed, thought nothing was coming through. But one day, she was asked to come over to audition for Tulsi’s role in KSBKBT she was chosen for this role and the rest, as they say, is history.

After KSBKBT became the top soap in India, her career was made. Recently she quit playing Tulsi in in KSBKBT due to reports that her and Ekta Kapoor had fallen out but in a recent interview Ekta Kapoor had said that Smriti is taking three month’s off KSBKBT to rest after a miscarriage and also stated that Smriti will be returing as Tulsi when she feels happy enough. When asked about Gautima Kapoor replacing Smriti as Tulsi, she said she has spoken to Gautima and she will give her a good exit when Smriti returns.

  

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Mark Hurd born on January 01, 1956 has been chief executive officer and president of HP and a member of the company’s board of directors since early 2005. In September 2006, he was named chairman of the board.

With the goal of establishing HP as the world’s leading technology company, Hurd has sharpened HP’s strategic focus and concentrated its R&D investments on three long-term growth opportunities: next-generation enterprise data center architecture and services; technologies for always connected, always personal mobile experiences; and a broad transition from analog to digital imaging and printing across the consumer, commercial and industrial markets.

At the same time, Hurd has improved HP’s operating efficiency and execution as well as its financial performance and customer focus. The result has been increasing growth and profitability, greater value for shareholders and customers, and a stronger competitive position in global IT markets. For the most recent four fiscal quarters, HP revenue totaled $104.3 billion.

Prior to joining HP, Hurd spent 25 years at NCR Corp., where he held a variety of management, operations, and sales and marketing roles that culminated in his two-year tenure as chief executive officer and president. His leadership was marked by successful efforts to improve operations, bolster the position of NCR’s product line and build a strong executive team.

Hurd is a member of the Technology CEO Council, a coalition of chairmen and chief executive officers of IT companies, which develops and advocates public policy positions on technology and trade issues.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1979 from Baylor University.

  

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Internet entrepreneur, computer scientist. Born in August 1973 in Moscow, Russia. The son of a Soviet mathematician economist, Brin and his family emigrated to the United States to escape Jewish persecution in 1979. After receiving his degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Maryland at College Park, Brin entered Stanford University, where he met Larry Page. Both students were completing doctorates in computer science.

As a research project at Stanford University, Brin and Page created a search engine that listed results according to the popularity of the pages, after concluding that the most popular result would often be the most useful. They called the search engine Google after the mathematical term “Googol,” which is a 1 followed by 100 zeros, to reflect their mission to organize the immense amount of information available on the Web.

After raising $1 million from family, friends and other investors, the pair launched the company in 1998. Google has since become the world’s most popular search engine, receiving more than 200 million queries each day. Headquartered in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, Google held its initial public offering in August 2004, making Brin and Page billionaires. Brin continues to share the company’s day-to-day responsibilities with Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt.

  

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Internet entrepreneur, computer scientist. Born Lawrence Page on March 26, 1973 in East Lansing, Michigan. Page’s father Carl was a pioneer in computer science and artificial intelligence and his mother taught computer programming. After earning a bachelor of science degree in engineering from the University of Michigan, Page decided to concentrate on computer engineering at Stanford University, where he met Sergey Brin.

As a research project at Stanford University, Page and Brin created a search engine that listed results according to the popularity of the pages, after concluding that the most popular result would often be the most useful. They called the search engine Google after the mathematical term “Googol,” which is a 1 followed by 100 zeros, to reflect their mission to organize the immense amount of information available on the Web.

After raising $1 million from family, friends and other investors, the pair launched the company in 1998. Google has since become the world’s most popular search engine, receiving more than 200 million queries each day. Headquartered in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, Google held its initial public offering in August 2004, making Page and Brin billionaires. Page continues to share responsibility for Google’s day-to-day operations with Sergey Brin and CEO Eric Schmidt.

  

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Eric Emerson Schmidt, Ph.D is Chairman and CEO of Google Inc and a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc. From 1997 to 2001, he was CEO of Novell. In 2007, he was cited by “PC World” as #1 on the list of the 50 Most Important People on the Web, along with Google co-Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

  

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Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KCSG, born in Melbourne on March 11, 1931, usually known as Rupert Murdoch, is an Australian-American global media tycoon. In 1937 he moved to Britain where he was raised and eventually attended Oxford University. Billionaire Australian, American publishing magnate. He is the major shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation (News Corp).

Beginning with newspapers, magazines and television stations in his native Australia, Murdoch expanded News Corp into the UK and US and Asian media markets. In recent years has become a leading investor in satellite television, the film industry, the Internet and media. News Corp is based in New York.

His father Sir Keith Murdoch became Australia’s most influential newspaper executive, directing the Melbourne-based Herald and Weekly Times Ltd. After his father’s death in 1952, Rupert returned to Australia to take over the running of his business and to inherit a considerable fortune but was left with a relatively modest inheritance.

In an effort to expand his television interests further in the United States Rupert Murdoch became an American citizen in 1985. Throughout the 80s his Australian listed Media company the News Corporation continued to grow rapidly, acquiring interests in newspapers, magazine, book publishing, television stations, film and more

The rapid growth of News Corporation and expansion into satellite TV also brought massive loans. During a downturn in the early 90s Murdoch and his media empire had difficulty paying its bills. Many of his American magazine interests were sold to pay off some of the loans and things eventually turned around for Murdoch.

In 1995 News Corporation with the backing of Telstra launched the Foxtel pay TV network in Australia, and then a year later Foxtel launched the Fox News Channel, a 24 hour news channel which reflected Murdoch’s conservative views. Fox News has consistently taken ratings from CNN and is now considered the most watched cable news channel.

In 1999 Murdoch extended his music interests in Australia by acquiring Mushroom Records which he merged with his Festival Records company as Festival Mushroom Records (FMR). In recent years Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan Murdoch has started to take over management of News Corporation and will eventually take over his father’s role.

Murdoch’s personal life has suffered 2 failed marriages with his first marriage ending after only a few years. His second marriage was to journalist Anna Murdoch one of his employee’s to whom he had 3 children. However they were divorced in 1998 after Murdoch had an affair with another employee, Wendi Deng who was 40 years his junior, they married soon afterwards. Rupert Murdoch’s net worth is estimated at 6.9 billion.

  

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Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to American Joanne Carole Schieble and Syrian Abdulfattah John Jandali, a graduate student who later became a political science professor. Steve Jobs is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple Inc., and was the CEO of Pixar Animation Studios until it was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2006. Jobs is currently the Walt Disney Company’s largest shareholder and a member of its Board of Directors. He is considered a leading figure in both the computer and entertainment industries. He is also widely credited as the inventor of the Macintosh, the iPod, the iTunes Store, and the iPhone, among other things

Steve Jobs is listed as Fortune Magazine’s Number One most powerful businessman of 2007 out of twenty-five other top businessmen.

Jobs’s history in business has contributed greatly to the myths of the quirky, individualistic Silicon Valley entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of design while understanding the crucial role aesthetics play in public appeal. His work driving forward the development of products that are both functional and elegant has earned him a devoted following.

Steve Jobs had a deep-seated interest in technology so he took up a job at Atari Inc. which was a leading manufacturer of video games. He struck a friendship with fellow designer Steve Wozniak and attended meetings of the “Homebrew Computer Club” with him. Wozniak and Jobs developed a system with a toy whistle available in the Cap’n Crunch cereal box to make it possible to make free long distance telephone calls. They called off the amateur venture after someone told them of the possible legal consequences.

Together with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Jobs helped popularize the personal computer in the late ’70s. In the early ’80s, still at Apple, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of the mouse-driven GUI. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher education and business markets. NeXT’s subsequent 1997 buyout by Apple brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he has served as its chief executive officer since shortly after his return.

  

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Model-turned-actor, 6’0″ tall, Dino Morea was born on 9th December, 1975. Born to an Italian father and Indian mother. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. His eyes are brown in color. His hairs are black in color. He is a Christian. He finished his schooling from Bangalore Army School, Clarence School, Bangalore and college from St Joseph’s, Bangalore. He was spotted while modelling for a fashion company. Prasad Bidappa introduced him to modeling. His die-hard looks and cute smile are still a hot assets on the ramp. This new generation bollywood actor also featured in music videos including those of ‘Alisha’ and ‘Abhijeet’.

Dino Morea, Gladrags Supermodel of 1999, who turned an actor. An unsuccessful debut as an actor in Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi has not noticeably diminished his popularity. Then Raaz in 2002 came opposite Bipasha Basu which was a romantic thriller. The movie was a hit and its songs are still listen. After that Baaz came, it was also thriller one but couldn’t bring audience in theatre. Ishq Hain Tumse again with Bipasha Basu released in 2003, but couldn’t gather audience.

This handsome hunk has cute dimples and a wonderful body. His relationship with Bipasha Basu remained not for long time. Now days it is said that he is been seen alot, with Karishma Kapoor‘s husband’s ex-wife Nandita Mahtani.

  

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Born on October 1st, 1965 in Los Angeles, California, this blonde bombshell is not only known as the “Queen of the Internet”, but also as a talk show host, model and actress. It all started when Cindy was working on a project for a college business course she was taking.

Cindy began modeling for greeting cards. She set up a company by herself for designing, printing, marketing and distributing her product. At this point, she was noticed by top agents, and so she began her modeling career. Now Cindy can be seen in in magazines, calendars, and just everywhere.She has been featured in numerous swimwear magazines including Inside Sports, where appeared three years in a row

Cindy began to model and appeared in ads for Reebok, Vidal Sassoon, Coors, Hanes and Sunkist. Cindy then moved on to television appearances on shows such as “Married with Children” (1987), “Murphy Brown” (1988), “Baywatch” (1989), “Baywatch Nights” (1995), In the Dark (1996) and “Head Over Heels” (1997) Her first foray into television was as a “Barker Beauty”, a hostess on the game show, “The Price Is Right” (1984). Her popularity on the Internet started when she appeared on “Extra” (1994) in 1995.

Since then, she has been named Yahoo Internet Life magazine’s “Queen of the Internet” from 1996-1999. She has been downloaded worldwide over 58 million times and has been inducted into The Guinness Book of World Records 2000 Millennium Issue, for having been downloaded 70,000 times in a period of 24 hours. For her reign in the cyber world, Cindy will be featured in the New Ripley’s Believe It or Not museums. Cindy Margolis is married to “Guy Starkman”, who owns Jerry’s Famous Deli – they met on a blind date.

  

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Nana Patekar, born on 1st January 1951 as Vishwanath Patekar is a highly acclaimed Indian actor and filmmaker. Born in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, to Dankar Patekar (a painter) and his wife Sangana Patekar. He is an alumnus of the Sir J. J. institute of Applied Arts, Mumbai.During his college years he was active in inter collegiate dramatics. After graduating he has starred in a number of Bollywood movies with some of the most prominent film directors of Bollywood. He is married to Neelakanti Patekar, and they have a son Malhar Patekar.

Nana Patekar is said to have a unique acting style. It is widely rumoured that he ad libs all of his lines and is held in high regard for this ability. He is known to give generously to the poor. He is also a sketch artist,a secret not known to the outside world. His sketches have sometimes helped the Mumbai Police to track criminals! Nana Patekar studied engineering in IIT between late 60′s/early 70′s. It was a four year degree course then and he used to take part in many College Drama functions.

While he acted in movies such as Mohre (1987) and Salaam Bombay! (1988), he was noticed by the mainstream Bollywood industry and audience for his portrayal of the villain in the 1989 film, Parinda. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for the role. He also won the Filmfare Best Villain Award in 1992 for Angaar. He is very famous for his acting style.He is very well known for his role in the movie Ab Tak Chappan (2005) in which he plays a police officer whose main task is to rid the streets of underworld dons.

In 1994 he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Krantiveer (1994). He also won the Filmfare Award and the Star Screen Awards in the best actor category. Patekar has experimented with his roles when it comes to films. He has done the occasional villain role but has also played a hero in most films. He played a truant, gambling son in Krantiveer (1994), a wife beater in Agnisakshi (1996), a deaf and dumb father in Khamoshi: The Musical (1996) and a schizophrenic in Wajood (1998).He turned director with his movie Prahaar:

The Final Attack co-starring Madhuri Dixit. His other films as an actor include Hu Tu Tu and Bluff Master. He once again gave a good performance in his film Apaharan. He received the Filmfare Best Villain Award as well as the Star Screen Award Best Villain. He is going to be in Sangeeth Sivan next that is remake of Athadu and is going to play Shiva reddy who was played by Sayaji Shinde in Atadu Patekar has also done some playback singing in the films Yeshwant (1997), Wajood (1998) and Aanch (2003).He is the only actor ever to win Filmfare Awards in the Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Villain categories.

  

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Brande Roderick was born in Novato, California, on June 13, 1974. She attended Santa Rosa Junior College, and always aspired to be an actress. She got her start by making guest appearances on shows such as The Love Boat: The Next Wave in 1998, as well as Beverly Hills, 90210, another episode of The Love Boat, the Christina Applegate sitcom Jesse, in 1999, and Two Guys and a Girl.

In 1998, Brande also starred in the films Sheer Passion, Life of a Gigolo, and Club Wildside 2. But it was in 1999 that she would go from obscurity to fame, as lifeguard Leigh Dyer on the most popular syndicated show of all-time, Baywatch Hawaii. Brande won the part among hundreds of fellow aspiring Baywatch beauties and also was named Miss April 2000 in Play boy’s issue of that month.

While she does have commercials for Dr. Pepper and Snickers on her resume, Brande aspires to act, and looks to Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Audrey Hepburn for inspiration.

  

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Sri Lanka’s off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan took 709 Test wickets to move to the top of the all-time list above Australian leg spinner Shane Warne.

Warne retired from Test cricket this year with 708 wickets from 145 matches. On the other hand Muralitharan age of 35, reached the milestone of 708th & 709th test wickets in his 116th game with the average of about 22.

Muralitharan bowled England’s Paul Collingwood on the third day of the first Test in Kandy.

The wicket, greeted with fireworks from Sri Lankan supporters, completed Muralitharan’s 61st five-wicket haul in Tests.

Muralitharan holds other bowling records in Test cricket including the most five-wicket with 61 times and ten-wicket hauls 20 times.

Muttiah Muralitharan had previously held the world record after surpassing West Indian fast bowler Courtney Walsh (519 wickets) in 2004, but he was subsequently overtaken by Warne after suffering a shoulder injury that year.

Muralitharan has also developed a special delivery called a “doosra” that spins in the opposite direction to his usual off spinner.

His career has been controversial, with Australian umpires no-balling him for chucking the ball during 1995 and 1999 tours of Australia.

The controversy over Muralitharan’s action continues despite him being cleared by the International Cricket Council after extensive biomechanical tests.