Top Ten Indian Cricket Players of All Time

India is one of the most popular names in cricket world. They have huge fan following across the world. This South-Asian cricket team has so far won two ICC ODI World Cup and the inaugural T20 World Cup trophies. They have given birth to many talented cricketers and are still continue producing great players.
Here, I have made a list of ten Indian cricket players including batsman, bowler, and wicket-keeper. Players have been chosen based on their performance and contribution to national cricket team.
If readers think that we could add some important information then they can help us by putting that information in the comment section.

Sachin Tendulkar:
It is hard to find anyone who hasn’t heard the name of this legendary player. Sachin Tendulkar who is affectionately called Little Master by his fans is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. The 39-year-old Tendulkar made his international debut in 1989 and still continue playing cricket. In his twenty-two years of cricket career, he has achieved many records in both Test and one-day international cricket. He is the highest run scorer and highest centurion in both format of the cricket game. So far he has scored 15470 runs in Test and 18426 runs in ODI respectively. He is the only player to reach the milestone of scoring a hundred centuries, including 51 centuries in Test and 49 centuries in ODI. He is also the only player to score fifty centuries in Test cricket.
He is the first player to have scored double century in ODI cricket. He is also the first player to cross 10000 runs in one day cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar is called the God of cricket. For his batting technique, he is compared with another legend cricketer, Sir Don Bradman. He was the member of 2011 ICC World Cup winning team.
Indian government honoured him with the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second highest civilian award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour. Currently, he has been nominated for receiving the Bharat Ratna award.
Besides playing cricket he is involved in some social activities. He helps many charity organizations. He is a passionate follower of Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi.

Sunil Gavaskar:
Sunil Gavaskar is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in the history of cricket game. This former Indian cricketer is considered as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history. He made his international debut in 1971 and played cricket for sixteen years. In his career, he has achieved many records including the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any batsman. His record of 34 Test centuries was unbroken for almost two decades until it was broken by Sachin Tendulkar in December 2005.
He is the first player who has scored more than 10,000 runs in Test cricket. Playing 125 Test matches, he has scored 10122 runs with an average of 51.12 with a career best of unbeaten 236 runs. Since making his ODI debut in 1974, he played 108 matches and scored 3092 runs with an average of 35.13. He scored just one century in ODI format of cricket game.
Sunil Gavaskar was well known for his batting style against fast bowling. He will be memorable for his unbeaten 103 performance in 1983 World Cup which India won. He was not a good captain and under his captaincy India went 31 matches without a victory.

Kapil Dev:
Former Indian captain, Kapil Dev, should be considered not only as one of the best cricketers but also the best captains in the history of Indian cricket. He successfully led his team to a first World Cup victory in 1983 where they defeated West Indies by 43 runs at Lord's, London. The well-known cricket magazine, Wisden, named him as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002. Not only that but also he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on 8 March 2010.
Kapil Dev was a good all rounder. Since making his Test debut in 1978, he played 131 matches and scored 5248 runs at an average of 31.05 with the career best of 163. With the ball, he took 434 and became the highest wicket taker before it was broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. Till then, he was India’s highest wicket taker in both major forms of cricket, Test and ODI.
He is the only player who has taken more than 400 wickets and more than 5000 runs in Test cricket. This performance made him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. After him, we cannot find anyone who can touch or break his record set as an all-rounder.

Anil Kumble:
Anil Kumble is regarded as one of the greatest Indian cricketers. This right-arm leg spin bowler is still the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and one-day international. Of all bowlers, he is the third highest wicket taker after Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne in Test cricket. He is one of only three bowlers who have taken more than 600 Test wickets in the oldest format of cricket game.
Playing 132 Tests, he took 619 wickets. He is one of the two bowlers to have taken ten wickets in an innings. He claimed this rare achievement against Pakistan in the second Test played in Delhi between 4 and 8 February 1999. He got 337 wickets in 271 ODI matches.
He guided Indian cricket team for few home and away series. He got the Test captaincy on November 2007 and succeeded Rahul Dravid. His captaincy was the combination of both success and failure. He announced his retirement from cricket on 2 November 2008. In 2005, Indian government honoured him with Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian honour, for his contribution to Indian cricket for 18 years.

Rahul Dravid:
If you are a fan of Indian cricket team then you should agree with me regarding the inclusion of Rahul Dravid in the list of best Indian cricketers of all time. He has all the qualities to be in the list. Rahul Dravid who is widely called “The Wall of Indian cricket” for his passionate batting style is considered as the last classical batsman. In his cricket career, he has achieved many records. He is the third highest Test run scorer after Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. He is the second Indian batsman to have scored more than 12000 runs in International cricket. He has also more than 10000 runs in ODI cricket.
He has the record of having taken the highest number of catches in Test cricket. He took more than 200 catches and surpassed the Australian legend Mark Waugh. In 2000, he was included as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers of the Year. In 2004, in the inaugural award ceremony ICC awarded him the ICC Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year.
On 9 March 2012, this passionate cricketer announced his retirement from all forms of cricket game with the BCCI president, N Srinivasan and former captain Anil Kumble at a press conference in Bangalore.
It would be hard for Indian selectors to get someone who could fill up the game in the national team.

Sourav Ganguly:
The former Indian cricketer, Sourav Ganguly, is undoubtedly one of the most successful captains in the history of Indian cricket. Under his captaincy, the Indian cricket team reached to a high level and represented India in a new image. He got huge reputation as a captain. He led the Indian cricket team into the 2003 World Cup final where they lost to Australia.
He is the sixth highest run scorer in One Day Internationals and is the third Indian cricketer to cross the 10000-run landmark along with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. He was ranked the sixth ODI batsman of all time after Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Dean Jones and Michael Bevan.
Since making his Test debut in 1996, he has played 113 Test matches and scored 7212 runs at an average of 42.17 including 16 centuries and 35 half-centuries. He made his ODI debut in 1992 and played 311 matches where he scored 11363 runs at an average of 41.02 with a career best of 183.
He was given captaincy in 2000 and did his job successfully. He was dropped from his post in 2005 due to his dispute with Coach Greg Chappell and because of his indifference in his career. He was drafted with Rahul Dravid. He took retirement from all forms of cricket in 2008 after a home Test series against Australia.

Mohammed Azharuddin:
Mohammad Azharuddin was not only a good cricketer but also one of the most successful Indian captains. He set a record of leading the Indian cricket team to 103 ODI matches which was broken by Sourav Ganguly under him Indian cricket team won more Test matches. However, Azharuddin will be well remembered to his fans as the best captain that Indian team had in ODI. He could play cricket for more years if his career did not end up due to the match fixing reasons.
He made his international debut in 1985. Playing 99        Tests, he scored 6215 runs at an average of 45.03. He played 334 ODI matches and scored 9378 runs at an average of 36.92.
He will always be remembered for his batting style which was comparable to that of his English contemporary, David Gower and Australian batsman Greg Chappell. He was best when it came to wrist flicker shot. He was good against spin bowlers.
Mohammad Azharuddin is not involved with cricket anymore. He is now a political leader. He is a member of the Indian National Congress. He won election from the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will undoubtedly be regarded as one of the most successful Indian captains till date. Under his captaincy, India won two World Cup trophies- the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He led the Indian cricket team to get the maiden T20 World Cup trophy beating Pakistan in the final match and regain the World Cup trophy after 28 years.
Under his captaincy, the Indian cricket team has claimed some remarkable achievements that the previous captains could not do during their captaincy. Dhoni led the Indian cricket team at the top position of the ICC Test rankings for the first time.
At the time of his captaincy, Indian cricket team looks much stronger than previous and they are performing well both in home and away. He has been added in Time magazine’s “Time 100” list of 100 most influential people of 2011.
He has become the first Indian player to get the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009. He also got the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. In 2009, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award, India’s fourth highest civilian honour by government.
He was given captaincy of India Twenty 20 squad for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September 2007 and still now he is the captain of national cricket team.

Vijay Hazare:
Vijay Hazare died many years ago but he is still remembered for leading the Indian cricket team to its first ever Test win in 1951-52 against England at Madras. He was selected captain of Indian cricket team in 1951 and led the national side for two years in 14 matches.
Since making his Test debut in 1946, he has played 30 matches and scored 2192 runs at an average of 47.65 including seven hundreds and nine half-centuries. In his short cricket career, he has achieved so many records. He has very good record in first-class record. Playing 238 first-class matches, he has scored 18740 runs at an average of 58.38 with the inclusion of 60 century and 73 half-century.
He is the first Indian player to score a triple century in first class cricket. He is also the first Indian cricketer to score back to back century of a Test match. He also made a highest 577-run partnership with Gul Mahomed for any wicket in first-class cricket.
Indian government showed honour with a trophy in his name, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a zonal-cricket tournament in India. He and Jasu Patel were the first cricketers to be honoured with the Padma Shri award.

V. V. S. Laxman:
V. V. S. Laxman is a well-known Indian cricketer. This tall middle-order batsman has got huge popularity for his passionate batting style. He along with Rahul Dravid and some other batsmen helped to strengthen the middle order batting line up.
He has a very good record against Australia. Out of his 17 Test hundreds, he has scored six centuries against Australia. In his ODI career, he has scored 4 out of 6 centuries. He has two double-centuries in Test cricket and both of them have come against Australia.
Laxman is a regular member in Indian Test squad. The 37-year-old player has so far played 134 Test matches where he scored 8781 runs at an average of 45.97. He is not an ODI specialist and that is why, he is not selected in the shorter format of cricket game. However, he has so far played 86 ODIs and scored 2338 runs at an average of 30.76.
He will be remembered for his career best innings of 281 at Kolkata which helped the home side to get an impossible victory against Australia. He also made a record partnership of 376 with Rahul Dravid and they together survived the whole fourth day.

Top Ten Indian Male Singers of All Time

Song is an important part of the Indian film. Fans cannot think Indian movie without song. It plays very important role to attract millions of fans to come and watch films on silver screen. Indian music industry has a rich history and it is getting rich day by day. The person who plays vital role behind its popularity is called singer. They are also getting popular with their songs.

Here, I have made a list of top ten male singers of Bollywood. They have been selected based on their popularity, versatility and voice. If you have any information to share then feel free to mention it in the comment section.

Kishore Kumar:

Kishore Kumar is a very household name among the Indian movie lovers. He has got equal success as an actor and playback singer, but received more success for his voice. Very few actors got as much success as like him.

After the release of Aradhana in 1969, he reached at the top of his popularity. Here, he lent his voice in a song titled “Roop Tera Mastana” which became hit. After that, movie lovers saw him ruling the next two decades.

Without having any formal training in music, he touched the hearts of millions of listeners around the world with his golden voice. As a singer, his popularity was increasing in such a way that past greats like Mohammad Rafi found it hard to compete with him.

He had good connection with Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan and had the chance to work with almost all lead actors and music directors of his time. With bagging 8 Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer, he holds the record for the most number of Filmfare Awards won for that category. Madhya Pradesh government gave him "Lata Mangeshkar Award" for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Mohammad Rafi:

Mohammad Rafi is one of the greatest playback singers in the history of Indian cinema. There is no one who can be compared with him. He was the dominant figure in the Golden Era of Hindi Cinema. In his 35 years of career from 1945 to 1980, he has sung 7,516 Hindi film songs, 112 non-Hindi film songs, and 328 private (non-film) songs and performed all types of songs.

In his time, he has worked with almost all the music directors and actors. He won National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, Indian government honored him with Padma Shri award.

Mukesh Chand Mathur:

He is widely known as Mukesh to his millions of fans. As his voice was extremely suitable for the tragic films, he was called the king of sad songs. He was deeply influenced by the legendary singers- KL Saigal, Rafi and Kishore, of his time, and he had to struggle hard to come out of their shadows. For his voice, he was compared with KL Saigal.

However, music director, Naushad, helped him to create his own style and to come out of his saigal style. Though he had to go through many ups and downs, his career spanned for three decades and he is still popular today.

Manna Dey:

Born as Prabodh Chandra Dey, he got commonly known by his nick name “Manna Dey”. He has shared equal success in both Bengali Assamese and Hindi films.

Though he performed all types of songs from Pop to folk, he is ranked as one of the best classical singers among all singers of Hindi film music.

His great voice, versatility and command over classical music helped him to be a great singer. He has sung more than 3500 songs over the course of his career.

He was honored with the Padma Shri award in 1971 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007 by the Indian government.

Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay:

Commonly Known as Hemanta Mukherjee, was the legendary singer, music composer, producer and one of the leading supporters of Rabindra Sangeet. He was the doyen of Bengal and Hindi music.

He was trained by Ustad Faiyaz Khan but his guidance was cut short by Ustad’s untimely death. He was blessed with versatility but limited by range. Despite performing a limited number of songs, he is still popular today.

Bhupen Hazarika:

Bhupen Hazarika is blessed with multifaceted talent. He has successful footstep in almost all the cultural arenas, including, writing poetry, lyrics, composing music, singing, acting, journalism and film-making, with highest repute. However, he is mainly known as singer to his fans and a living pioneer of Assam’s film industry in the Northeast.

In his songs, he talked about ordinary people and their sufferings that made him popular among all class of ethnic and religious communities not only in Assam but also in other countries outside India. He was a strong supporter of communism and that is why, fans could find the themes of communal amity, universal justice, empathy and humanity.

Most of his songs were mainly sung and written in the Assamese language by him, but have been translated and sung in many languages, especially in Bengali and Hindi.

In his long career, he won many major awards in India and performed more than 1,500 songs.

Rahul Dev Burman:

The son of singer and Bollywood music composer Sachin Dev Burman and his wife Meera, Rahul Dev Burman, is a gift in the Hindi film industry. He kept very important contribution in the Hindi film industry by revolutionizing the filmi music in Hindi films for which he is credited. His style and techniques are still followed by the composers of today. Besides composing music, he also lent his voice in eighteen movies for which he himself composed the scores.

It is said that he used to get tunes in his dreams. Being advised by his father, he used to get up as soon as he dreamt of a tune and wrote it down.

Kumar Sanu:

For his singing style, Kumar Sanu often compared with an Indian legend singer, Kishore Kumar. However, he came out of Kishore’s shadow and developed his own singing style. In the early 1990s, he reached at the top of his popularity at a time when Gulshan Kumar ruled the music industry. He has given a number of hit song to his fans.

He has been criticized for not having a range or a good voice. He won the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award over five consecutive years. In 2009, he was honored with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.

Mahendra Kapoor:

Mahendra Kapoor is another Indian playback singer who got huge popularity among fans for his Rafi like voice and ability to sing at higher end of the octave. His career spanned five decades and sang over 25,000 songs in various regional languages. Some of his memorable songs are ‘Chalo ek baar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono’ in Gumrah, ‘Neele gagan ke taale’ in Hamraaz. But he became identical to the patriotic songs like ‘Mere Desh Ki Dharti', in Manoj Kumar’s film Upkaar.

Indian government honored him with the Padma Shri award in 1972.

KL Saigal:

Kundan Lal Saigal, shortly called as KL Saigal, is a legendary figure in the Indian film industry. The singer-actor is known as the first superstar of the Hindi film industry. He died long times ago but his popularity is still intact. It became possible because of the magic that he had in his voice.

Top Ten Indian Female Models of All Time

Models are not like ordinary people. They are far more than them because of their direct connection with art work and fashion. With the help of models, designers can represent their visions throughout the world. Whatever model does is called modeling. It is totally different from other types of public performance such as an acting, dancing or mime artist.

Modeling is a big industry in India and models are not less popular than actress. Perhaps the easiest way of making entrance into the film industry is to becoming a top model.

Here, I have made a list of top 10 Indian female models of all time. I have selected the models based on their performance on the ramp, glamour, fitness etc. If you find any problem about this list then give your own opinion on the comment section.

Noyonika Chatterjee:

There is no need to give any further description about Noyonika Chatterjee. She is widely regarded as one of the best female models of all time in India. For her contribution and dominance on the ramp for over a decade, she earned the title of ramp-queen.

For her dark body color, she is often compared with the British model, Naomi Campbell, and called the Naomi Campbell of India. In 1988, she got her first modeling offer and was flooded with assignments.

When she started modeling, there was demand on light-skinned model. However, she became one of the first models to break this trend. Still now, she is remembered in the hearts of her fans for her warm complexion and dusky beauty.

She is not working on the ramp now. Instead, she keeps herself busy in training new models and choreographs beauty contestants. Some of the Bollywood actresses she had trained are Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra and Dia Mirza.

Nina Manuel:

With her dusky beauty, Noyonika Chatterjee created a trend in the modeling industry and became one of the first models to break the stereotype of light-skinned. However, her new trend was followed by a number of models. One of the most popular faces of this new wave is Nina Manuel.

Nina Manuel will thank her mother for becoming such a popular face in the modeling industry. Her mother asked her to participate in Femina Look of the Year contest in 1995. It was the beginning of her career and after that she didn’t have to look back.

She was first seen in the San Miguel advertisement as the sexy waitress. She has also campaigned for Levi’s, Coke, Indian Express and Kodak. Besides appearing in TV adds, she has worked in music videos with Baba Sehgal, Remo and Anaida.

She has also appeared in a couple of shows- Late Night V and After Hrs on different TV channels. For her blessed looks and potential, she is considered as one of the most celebrated models in India.

Sheetal Mallar:

Another dusky beauty who deserves to be in the list is Sheetal Mallar. Discovered by the photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha for Danabhai Jewelers, she came at the centre of public attention after winning the Femina Look of the Year in 1994 beating Madhu Sapre. In the same year, she was placed she was also placed among the 12 finalists in the Elite supermodel contest.

She has campaigned for Maybelline, McDowells, LG Electronics, Gold Flake, Grasim Suitings, Motorola etc. She works as the face of Maybelline cosmetics.

After staying at the peak of her career for many years, she bid farewell to the ramp modeling.

Madhu Sapre:

Madhu Sapre is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful models in India. She is the former Miss Universe participant. She represented her country at the 1992 Miss Universe pageant. In this beauty contest, she became the second runners-up in this contest.

She will be remembered for her daring task that kept big contribution in the formation of a revolutionary change in the perception models in India. She took a nude photo with model Milind Soman with whom she was briefly engaged. It was not an easy task for her do in a country like India. She is said to be one of the most daring models.

Diandra Soares:

Diandra Soares is blessed with versatility. She is an Indian model, anchor and actress. She won the Miss Bombay beauty contest in 1995. After winning this prestigious title, she pursued her career in modeling and became one of the leading models of the ramp.

She surprised the whole world with her bald head appearance. Perhaps she was the first model to be ever seen on the runway on bald head. It was obviously shocking but her bald head gesture put her into the limelight and helped her to get fame.

According to Huffington post, she is the most beautiful bald model ever seen.

Bipasha Basu:

Bipasha Basu is a well-known figure in Hindi film industry. She is considered as one of the most sought after actresses of her time. She has got huge popularity and fame with her acting skill and dark body color. For her bold roles in Indian cinema, she has established herself as a "Sex Symbol".

Before making her entrance to film industry, she was a top ranked model. Suggested by Mehr Jessia Rampal, she participated in the Godrej Cinthol Supermodel Contest in 1996 and won the title. It was the beginning of her career and she never looked back as she went on to become one of the most sought after models of her time.

As she got bored in modeling, she pursued her career in acting and there she got equal success.

Nethra Raghuraman:

Hailed from South India, she has become a well-known name on the ramp for almost a decade. She also made her appearance on silver screen also and acted in a number of films. Some of her notable films are Thakshak, Bhopal Express, Avgat and Inteqam. Despite getting good response as an actress, she never left modeling and fashion.

Nethra Raghuraman participated in the Look of the Year in 1997 and won the title. In 2000, she won the Best female newcomer title at Star Screen Awards. She participated at the TV show, Khataron Ke Khiladi, hosted by Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar and was the winner.

Ujjwala Raut:

Ujjwala Raut is the first model who represented not only India but also the Asian modeling industry in the international arena. She walked the ramp for Roberto Cavalli, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta and Victoria's Secret.

Anaita Shroff Adjania quoted her as “the perfect model” while Atul Kasbekar said about her, “One of the finest models we have produced in this country”.

She came at the centre of attention in 1996 after becoming the winner of Femina Look of the Year at the age of 17. In Elite Model Look of the Year in Nice, she was among the top 15 contestants.

Carol Gracias:

Whenever we think about any model with beautiful complexion walking on the ramp then the name that comes to our mind is Carol Gracias. She is well known for her wardrobe malfunction that she experienced during the 2006 Lakme India Fashion Week in Mumbai. However, she showed her professionalism handling the wardrobe quickly and completed the walk. Still now, her attendance at any show adds class to it.

She won the India's L'Oreal/Elite "Look of the year" title. Besides walking on the ramp, she also made short appearance in the movie Being Cyrus. She was seen in the music video for the song Right Here Right Now from the movie Bluffmaster.

Carol also participated in the Indian version of Celebrity Big Brother, Bigg Boss, and she became the runner-up. She also took part in the second level of the khatron ke khiladi.

Jesse Randhawa:

Jesse is also known as the runway tigress. Her magnanimous presence at the ramp overshadows all others. Married to choreographer Sandeep Soparkar, Jesse has also evolved to become a great dancer. Modelling or dancing, Jesse knows how to do it best.

Jesse Randhawa, who is known as runway tigress, is well known for her different look that made her separate from the typical Indian women models when she started her career as model in the 90s.

At her time when models were seen with long hair, fair complexion and light eyes, she made a breakthrough appearing in short hair. Designers were not accustomed to her different look. So at the beginning of her career, she had to struggle a lot to find enough work to prolong her career in the modeling industry.

With her generous presence at the ramp, she outshines all others. She also acted in some Hindi movies. Apart from modeling, she is known for her dancing.

Top Ten Indian Actors of All Time

Indian film industry has always been dominated by actors. They play a very crucial part in the film. Even the success of the film also depends on them. Actors are treated more than stars. They are like demi-gods to their fans.

Here, I have made a list of top ten Indian actors of all time. Actors have been taken from different region films based on their performances, popularity, success, skill and contribution to the film industry.

You may agree or disagree with me as some of the legendary figures have not been included in this list. That is why, I ask apologize to all readers.

Dilip Kumar (Hindi):

Dilip Kumar is a living legend actor in Hindi film industry. Though he was born as Muhammad Yusuf Khan, this Indian actor and former Member of Parliament started his acting career in 1944 in Jwar Bhata with a screen name, Dilip Kumar, given by Hindi Author Bhagwati Charan Varma.

Since his debut on a big screen, Dilip Kumar has spanned five decades and acted over 60 films and appeared in diverse roles such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and the social Ganga Jamuna (1961).

His debut film could not give him much success as a leading actor. However, he didn’t have to wait for a long time as he got first major success with the film Jugnu released in 1947.

For his performances in the romantic melodramas Mela (1948), Andaz (1949), Deedar (1951), Daag (1954), Devdas (1955), Naya Daur (1957), Yahudi (1958) and Madhumati (1958), he got the screen image "Tragedy King".

Dilip Kumar has been described as the greatest actor ever. Legendary figures like Amitabh Bachan and Satyajit Ray has described him as "the Ultimate, the best" and "the ultimate method actor". He is considered to be one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is also known as the acting king of Hindi cinema.

For his performance in the 1952 film Daag, he got Filmfare Best Actor Award and became the first Indian actor to receive such prestigious award and with eight wins, he shares the record along with Shahrukh Khan for the most number of Filmfare Awards won for that category.

Amitabh Bachchan (Hindi):

Amitabh Bachchan is undoubtedly one of the most popular figures in Hindi film industry. Despite his late sixties, he is still considered to be one of the most powerful actors in Bollywood. He is also regarded as one of the greatest and powerful actors in the history of Indian cinema. He has spanned more than four decades and acted in over 180 Indian films. For his acting performance, he is called Big B, Shahenshah etc.

It was not easy for him to make his entrance in the film industry. At first, he made his debut as a voice narrator in 1969 in Mrinal Sen's National Award winning film Bhuvan Shome. He got his first acting opportunity in Khwaja Ahmad Abbas directed Saat Hindustani as one of the seven protagonists.

He was not well accepted as a hero because of his tall height and fair body color. He had to struggle hard to cement his place as a hero. However, he gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema.

In his career, he has won numerous major awards including four National Film Awards, and fourteen Filmfare Awards. With 36 nominations overall, he has become the most-nominated performer in any major acting category at Filmfare.

Amitabh Bachchan is a man with versatile geniuses. He is well known as a playback singer, film producer and television presenter. He hosts the television game show Kaun Banega Crorepati. His company ABCL produced many films and unfortunately most of the films were flop. He also entered politics briefly.

Kamal Haasan (Tamil):

Kamal Haasan is one of the very few lucky actors who has gained equal popularity in almost all the major Indian language films- Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. He is also one of very few actors to have completed 50 years in cinema.

In his long acting career, he has starred in more than 150 movies including all the major Indian languages and a big portion of his acted films are Tamil. He won several Indian film awards, including four National Film Awards and numerous Filmfare Awards. He is perhaps the one and only Indian actor bagging more than 18 Filmfare awards.

He made his acting debut as a four-year-old child artist in Kalathur Kannamma where he starred alongside the veteran Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan. It helped him to get the National Film Award for Best Child Artist. He went on to act as a child actor in five other Tamil films. He is considered to be one of the method actors in the Indian cinema.

Kamal Haasan made his debut as an adult in the 1975 drama Apoorva Raagangal, in which he played a rebellious youth in love with an older woman. After that, he went on to act in several romantic films. Some of his notable films are 16 Vayadhinilae, Nayakan, Guna, Mahanadhi, Hey Ram and Alavandaan.

Rajinikanth (Tamil):

If you are a fan of Indian cinema then you should have heard the name of Rajinikanth. He is said to be one of the most powerful actors in Indian cinema. Casting Rajinikanth in the male lead role always work like a magic. His name was enough to attract millions of fans and make a film box-office hit.

His way of delivering speech, style and mannerisms helped him to get huge popularity. Because of these qualities he could ruled the film industry for more than three decades. He has acted in almost all of the Indian film industries but most of his films were in Tamil language.

Before making his entrance to the film industry, he had to do all types of odd jobs, including carpenter, coolie, buss conductor. K. Balachander directed 1975 Tamil movie Apoorva Raagangal gave him the opportunity to make his debut as a co-star alongside Kamal Haasan. His role was small and less important but he could catch the attention of movie lovers. After that, he went on to act as a co-star in several films.

However, he was cast as a main hero in the 1978 film Bairavi. This film was box office hit and he didn’t have to look back. With Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum, he made his Malayalam film-debut released in 1979. He also made his entrance in Bengali cinema through Bhagya Debata, which released at the end of 1995. In his 2007 film Sivaji, he was paid 26 crore (US$5.9 million) for his role and became the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan.

He had acted in more than 150 films across various film industries of India and has won a Filmfare Best Tamil Actor Award and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including four Best Actor Awards and two Special Awards for Best Actor.

For his contribution to Indian cinema, he was given to Padma Bhushan in 2000. Except acting, he also worked as a producer and screenwriter.

Vikram Kennedy (Tamil):

Vikram Kennedy is one of the most popular faces in Tamil film industry. He is undoubtedly one of the best actors in Indian cinema. He is also highly talented and handsome actor. He will be remembered to the minds of his fans for his acting skill and style.

He made his acting debut in 1990 with the film En Kadhal Kanmani and during 1990s; he acted in a number of small-budget films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam languages. However, his first breakthrough came in 1998 with the Sethu directed by Bala. In this film, Vikram appeared as a rogue turned lover and it helped him to get fame as an actor.
In 2000, he appeared in a number of masala films, with Dhill (2001), Gemini (2002), Dhool (2003) and Saamy (2003). These films got commercial success. His career has spanned more than two decades and acted in almost 50 movies.

For his performances in Tamil movie, he has got Filmfare Award for Best Actor four times and one National Film Award and Tamil Nadu State Film Award.

Uttam Kumar (Bengali):

Uttam Kumar is a legendary figure in Bengali film industry. He is regarded as the super star of Bengali cinema and the most popular Bengali film actor ever. The void that was created because of his death more than thirty years ago could not be replaced by anyone till now. He was blessed with versatility. He was a talented actor, director, producer, singer and music director and because of his multifaceted talent he was gained much acclaim and adulation.

He was born as Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 to a middle class family in Calcutta, but he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak. Nitin Bose directed Drishtidan was his first released film which got released in 1948. Before this film, he acted in Mayador which was not released. After that, he acted in a number of films but Basu Paribar helped him to get popularity.

Uttam Kumar had successful on screen pair with Suchitra Sen. This pair’s first film was Sharey Chuattor (74 and a half anna), but his first breakthrough film with Suchitra Sen was Agni Pariksha. With this film, Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen got huge popularity as romantic pair and their combination became a very house hold name to Bengali movie lovers. After that, they gave several successful films.

Uttam Kumar also acted in some Hindi films such as Chhoti Si Mulaqat, Amanush, Anand Ashram, Dooriyaan, and Kitaabwith, but he could not gain that much success in Bollywood.

He died on 24th July 1980 at the age of 53.

Mammootty (Malayalam):

Mammootty is a big name in Malayalam film industry. Those who watch Malayalam cinema should know this legendary figure.

Since making his debut in 1971 with the film Anubhavangal Paalichakal directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan, he has acted in more than three decades and acted in more than 360 films. He is the second Indian actor after Prem Nazir to act in the number of lead roles in Indian films. In his long acting career, he also appeared in duel roles nine times in Malayalam films which is still highest in number.

Besides acting in Malayalam films, he also appeared in a few Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada films. Some of his notable films are Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Mathilukal (1990), Ponthan Mada (1994), Vidheyan (1994), and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (2000).

For his performances in movies, he got numerous awards, including the National Film Award for Best Actor three times, five Kerala State Film Awards and eleven Filmfare Awards. For his contribution to Indian cinema, he was given the Padma Shri award and became the first Malayali actor to get this honour.

He was given Doctor of Letters by University of Kerala in January 2010 and by University of Calicut in December 2010.

Mohanlal (Malayalam):

Mohanlal is a name of a popular Malayalam actor who is blessed with versatility. He got well reuptation for his natural acting in Indian cinema. There is no doubt about his talent in acting. He was good in both comedy and serious roles. It is obviously a rare talent that not too many actors can expose with the same ease. Fans should remember him for his comedy roles and unique style of dialogue delivery. He is considerd as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema and is a cultural icon.

His first film was Thiranottam which was not released. However, he started his career in a villain role in Manjil Virinja Pookkal in which Fazil also made his directorial debut. It was also the debut film for both Shankar and Poornima Jayaram who played the lead roles. After the success of this film, Mohanlal did not have to look back and went on to give many hit films.

He has spanned more than thirty years in the film industry and acted over hundreds of films and bagged numerous awards, including four Indian National Film Awards and one Award for Best Film as producer along with six Kerala State Film Awards for Best Actor.

He was given to India's fourth highest civilian honour, Padma Shri, award for his contribution to Malayalam film industry.

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (Telugu):

Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao is a well-known Telugu actor. He is widely known as NTR and fondly referred to as Anna Garu. He was an actor with versatile geniuses. Besides acting, he had directed and produced many films. He was also actively involved in politics.

Though he made his debut as an actor in Mana Desam (1949), he got stardom in the early 1950s as "messiah of the masses" and has become one of the most prominent figures in the history of Telugu cinema. After that, he acted in a number of films in a antagonistic roles. In Palletoori Pilla, he was selected as a hero for the first time.

He will be rememberd to the hearts of Telugu movie lovers for his portrayals of Hindu idols, especially Lord Krishna and Lord Rama. He was the founder of the Telugu Desam Party in 1982 and served 3 terms as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1983 and 1994. For his contribution to Telugu cinema he was Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1968.

Chiranjeevi (Telugu):

Chiranjeevi is a towering figure in Telugu film industry. He is also widely regarded as "Megastar" in the media. He has huge fan following in Andhra Pradesh.

Apart from this power packed performances in movies, this macho man is well known for his extraordinary dances and fights.

His real name is Siva Sankara Varaprasad but with a screen name “Chiranjeevi” suggested by his mother, he made his acting debut in the film Punadhirallu. His first released film was Pranam Khareedu.

He started getting fame with the 1981 film Initilo Ramayya Vidhilo Krishnayya. His screen persona along with his film roles contributed to a change in the concept of a Telugu film lead actor. He has acted different types of characters and won numerous awards.

He has already taken retirement from acting and now keeping his life busy in politics and humanitarian works. Forming Praja Rajyam Party in 2008, he entered into politics and in 2009, he was elected as the State Assembly from Tirupati constituency.

India introduced $35 computer for the students

Now, Indian people would get computer at a cheaper price. On July 22, 2010, Kapil Sibal, India’s Human Resource Development Minister, unveiled the world’s cheapest computer invented by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The device would be made available to students and teachers in various schools and colleges within 2011.

While unveiling the device, Mr. Sibal said, “The price of the device is expected to be around $35 (Rs. 1,500), gradually dropping down to $20 and ultimately $10 per piece.”

IIT-Rajasthan and IIT-Kanpur jointly developed the computer. The laptop sports a 7 inch monitor with in-built processor.

Though it is smaller and cheaper, it can run all the applications of a regular computer. The laptop is equipped with a touch-screen and Wi-Fi to access Internet. The laptop does not have any motherboard. It has 2GB in-built memory which can be further expanded up to 32 GB.

The laptop has 256MB RAM with two watt power. It also has an alternate solar battery.

The device will be made available for students under the National Mission on Education through ICT. The government is planning to provide the computer to 200 million children across the country and it would cost approximately Rs.10,000 crore. Indian government would provide 50% subsidy component.

Asia Cup 2010: India Squad Players List

Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan have been excluded from the 15-man squad that Indian selectors announced for the upcoming Asia Cup in Sri Lanka from June 15 to 24.

Indian squad for Asia Cup: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Pragyan Ojha, Ashok Dinda, R. Ashwin, Saurabh Tiwary.

India’s most prolific batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, has been omitted from the squad that will play against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the four-nation Asia Cup.

He wanted a break to spend time with his family members and that is why he asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not to consider him for the ODI tournament. His omission from the ODI squad that will tour Sri Lanka was confirmed by the board secretary, N. Srinivasan. It will put Indian cricket team under huge pressure. No doubt, selectors will have to find a best replacement in stead of him, but there will be no one who can replace the veteran player.

Before the team was announced, news came out that Sachin Tendulkar might skip the event, but the selectors were not serious in their work. What they could do is that they might have convinced the batsman. However, they didn’t do it. Sachin Tendulkar’s refusal to tour to Sri Lanka has come as a great shock. Even it was more shocking then his decision not to represent India in Twenty20 internationals.

It has been a long time that he has not played for India. On 24^th February 2010, he played his last ODI match against South Africa at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium where he made a record of unbeaten double century and became the only player to hold such a record in the history of ODI cricket.

The inclusion of regular captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Virender Sehwag will increase the power of Indian cricket team. Virender Sehwag could not play the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies due to his shoulder injury that he sustained during third edition of IPL. Inclusion of Virender Sehwag will boost the confidence of the team. He will make open along with Gautam Gambhir.

Cricket fans will be happy for the return of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain. He will lead the Indian cricket team in this tournament. He has not been in the good form and has been struggling to get back his previous form. Though Dhoni has been criticized for his poor captaincy during the Twenty20 World Cup 2010, he is still considered as one of the best captains India ever had. It is expected that MS Dhoni will lead India successfully and bring another trophy for country.

The players who were rested for the tri-series in Zimbabwe have been included in the squad. Selectors have also included some players who are not regular cricketers but considered better performers. As the players were rested, the team will come out with a bunch of strong and power players.

Gautam Gambhir is one of the players who were rested for the tri-series in Zimbabwe. Gambhir is now in good form. His opening partnership with the unstoppable Virender Sehwag will help India to get the winning streak.

Harbhajan Singh is expected to make his return with his spin magic. He is passionately waiting to use his spin magic against the opponent teams in the upcoming Asia Cup. He is the only spinner who has the experience to play more matches for Indian team.

Pace trio of Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra will be the main bowling power for India. They will try hard to prove their opponents that they still have some power and strength to show.

Despite being an important figure in the ODI format of cricket game, Yuvraj Singh, failed to make his place in the ODI tour. The dropping of Yuvraj Singh was not unexpected as his performances in recent months were not satisfactory. Yuvraj Singh got involved in a brawl in a West Indian pub and it came as an extra addition for the reason of his exclusion from the squad. Now, selectors will replace Yuvraj Singh by a suitable player who can play like him with the bat and ball.

Yuvraj Singh played five ODI matches this year and scored 96 runs where 74 of them coming in one match against Sri Lanka in Dhaka.

Yusuf Pathan was one of the experienced players who traveled Zimbabwe to play the tri-nation series. His performance was not good either. He could not play an important role for his team when his service was needed.

Twenty-year-old player, Saurabh Tiwary, is the only uncapped player who is likely to make his debut in this forthcoming tournament. He plays for Mumbai Indians. His impressive effort for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League forced the selectors to call him in the main squad.

The second-string Indian squad has been formed by the players who performed well in IPL 3. Despite their good performance in IPL, they could not lead India to a victory. It would be better if the selectors do not select anyone with poor performance in domestic cricket.

Some players who were included in the second-string Indian squad could make their place despite showing poor performance. Selectors kept faith on them and it is also expected that they will be the big asset for team India.

Suresh Raina led the second-string Indian squad in the recently concluded tri-series in Zimbabwe and failed to get success as India could not play in the final match. India lost twice against host team, Zimbabwe, and once against Sri Lanka. Their disappointing performance dropped India from number two position to third in the ICC ODI team ranking.

According to the chairman of Indian selectors, Kris Srikkanth, a lot of importance was given to the players’ fitness. In his statement, it has been cleared that both fitness and fielding are very important.

Asia Cup will be a big challenge for Indian cricket team as their performance in the Twenty20 World Cup was not good. They got eliminated from the second round. This upcoming tournament will give them a chance to prove that they are still a strong team in any format of cricket.

India has been put at No. 3 in the ICC ODI Team Ranking

Indian cricket team has been dropped one spot to third in the ICC ODI team ranking.

The reason of going down is India’s shocking performance and elimination from the tri-nation ODI series in Zimbabwe.

Sri Lankan cricket team has ensured India’s elimination after defeating them by 6 wickets on June 5. Now, Indian cricket team is one point behind South Africa who replaced them at No. 2 position with 119 points in the point table.

Because of their shocking defeat against Sri Lanka, India has been put in the third place with 118 ratings points.

India lost twice to host team, Zimbabwe, and failed to make it to the final following their disappointing performance against Sri Lanka on Saturday.

India started the tour series with second spot in the ICC rankings, but they fall behind South Africa due to the result of the three losses in Zimbabwe. If India could manage a victory over Sri Lanka in Harare then they could hold their previous ranking with 120 points.

Indian cricket team is still No. 1 in the ICC Test team ranking. Cricket fans are worried about thinking that India may lost their dominance in Test ranking to.

Rank	Team
1.	Australia
2.	South Africa
3.	India
4.	New Zealand
5.	England
6.	Sri Lanka
7.	Pakistan
8.	West Indies
9.	Bangladesh
10.	Zimbabwe
11.	Ireland
12.	Kenya

Australian player Michael Hussey has replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni at No. 1 position in ODI batsmen ranking.

It will be interesting to see if Indian can hold their Test ranking or Zimbabwe will make another shock in the test series.

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