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Aishwarya Rai

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Aishwarya Rai
Birth name	Aishwarya Krishnaraj Rai
Born	November 1, 1973 (1973-11-01) (age 33) Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Spouse(s)	Abhishek Bacchan (April 2007 - present)
Filmfare Awards
Best Actress 1998 Jeans(Tamil) 1999 Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 2002 Devdas

Aishwarya Rai (Tulu-Kannada: ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯ ರೈ, Devanāgarī: ऐश्वर्या राय, IPA: [æʃvərjɑː rɑːj]) (born November 1, 1973), is a three-time Filmfare Award-winning Indian actress. She was Miss World in 1994 and has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and English films. Rai is married to Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan and is daughter-in-law to Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan.

Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Awards and Nominations 4 Filmography 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] Biography

Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine engineer, and Vrinda Rai, a writer on 1 November 1973. Her ancestors are from the Bunt community of Mangalore. Her family later relocated to Mumbai (Bombay). Rai has one elder brother, Aditya Rai who is a film producer.

Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir at Santacruz, Mumbai, then entered Jai Hind College, Churchgate, Mumbai for one year and then moved to Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai to finish her HSC. She was an A student and was on track to become an architect. Her mother tongue is Tulu. She also speaks Hindi, English, Kannada, Marathi and Tamil.

Rai began modeling on the side while pursuing for studies in Architecture, which did not materialise. In the 1994 Miss India contest, she was controversially placed second behind Sushmita Sen, and went on to win the Miss World title that same year and the Miss Photogenic award. After the one year reign as Miss World in London, she then worked as a professional model, in advertising and Indian fashion magazines and later got into Indian film industry.

After much speculation concerning their relationship, her engagement to Abhishek Bachchan was announced on January 14, 2007. ^[1] The event was heavily covered by the media. They married on April 20, 2007 in a private ceremony held at the Bachchans' bungalow Prateeksha ^[2]

[edit] Career

Aishwarya debuted in Mani Ratnam's Tamil language film, Iruvar (1997) with Mohanlal ^[3]. She was introduced to Bollywood in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya; the film did not do well at the box office. However, her third project, a Tamil-language film, Jeans (1998) by S. Shankar was a critical and commercial success for which she was awarded the Filmfare Best Actress Award South. Aishwarya then appeared in many Bollywood films; a few successful films of her career include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Taal (1999) for which her performance was lauded. ^[4] She was awarded the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role in the former. In 2000 she had a supporting role in the hit film Mohabbatein and also in another hit film Josh.

In 2002, Rai appeared with superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a major box-office success ^[5] and earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award. ^[6] The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival. ^[7] It was during this time that she garnered the attention of the West as an Indian actress and went on to appear in a few Hollywood projects.

As her name gained popularity in the West, she was chosen by Time magazine in 2004 as one of the World's "100 Most Influential People" and in 2003, appeared on the cover of Time magazine. She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2. A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. She was also featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment. In 2003, she acted in the critically acclaimed and commercial success Bengali film, Chokher Bali, an adaptation of one of Rabindranath Tagore's novels by the same name.

Rai has been a regular at the Cannes Film Festival since 2002, and was a member of the Jury at Cannes in the year 2003. In October 2004, a wax figure of Rai became on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum ^[8]. The same month, her first foreign film was released: Bride and Prejudice ^[9]. The film was an Indian version of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. The film did well commercially in the U.K but not in India. Her next overseas venture, The Mistress of Spices, was critically acclaimed though not commercially successful. She then appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi.

In between her overseas acting stints, she appeared in the Indian film Bunty Aur Babli in a hugely popular seven minute dance sequence for the song "Kajra Re". The dance sequence paired Rai with Abhishek Bachchan who, two years later (April 2007), became her husband.

At the end of the year 2006, she had two releases: Umrao Jaan and Dhoom 2. Umrao Jaan did poorly in India; however, her role in Dhoom 2, a sequel to the 2004 hit movie Dhoom brought her great attention. It was a hit commercially too. ^[10] Both of these films also co-starred Rai's soon-to-be husband, Abhishek Bachchan.

2007 saw the release of Mani Ratnam's Guru which premiered in Toronto. The film, based on the life of successful Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani, was both commercially and critically very successful. Her most recent film, Provoked, based on the book "Circle of Light" where she portrays a real life character, was released on 6 April, 2007 in India and the UK. The film did well commercially in the UK. It was critically acclaimed all over the world. At the end of April 2007 her first American film, The Last Legion, was released in Russia and the Netherlands. The film is expected to open in North American theaters in August 2007.

[edit] Awards and Nominations

Main article: List of Aishwarya Rai's awards and nominations

[edit] Filmography

Year	Film	Co-Stars	Language	Role
1997	Iruvar	Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Tabu, Revathi, Gouthami	Tamil	Pushpa/Kalpana
1997	Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya	Bobby Deol	Hindi	Ashi Kapoor
1998	Jeans	Prashanth, Nassar, Raju Sundaram	Tamil	Madhumitha/Vaishnavi
1999	Aa Ab Laut Chalen	Akshaye Khanna, Rajesh Khanna	Hindi	Pooja
1999	Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam	Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan	Hindi	Nandini
1999	Ravoyi Chandamama	Akkineni Nagarjuna, Jagapati Babu	Telugu	special appearance (song sequence).
1999	Taal	Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna	Hindi	Mansi
2000	Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke	Abhishek Bachchan	Hindi	Sahiba Gareval
2000	Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai	Anil Kapoor	Hindi	Preeti Virat
2000	Josh	Shahrukh Khan, Chandrachur Singh	Hindi	Shirley
2000	Kandukondain Kandukondain	Ajith Kumar, Mammooty, Abbas, Tabu, Dino Morea, Pooja Batra	Tamil	Meenakshi Bala
2000	Mela	Aamir Khan, Twinkle Khanna	Hindi	Champakali (Special Appearance)
2000	Mohabbatein	Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Shamita Shetty	Hindi	Megha (Cameo)
2000	Sanam Tere Hain Hum		Hindi	Item number
2001	Albela	Govinda, Namrata Shirodkar	Hindi	Sonia
2002	23rd March 1931: Shaheed	Bobby Deol, Sunny Deol, Amrita Singh	Hindi	Cameo
2002	Devdas	Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit	Hindi	Parvati
2002	Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin	Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt	Hindi	Komal Rastogi
2002	Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam	Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit	Hindi	Cameo
2002	Shakti: The Power	Shahrukh Khan, Sanjay Kapoor, Karishma Kapoor	Hindi	Item number
2003	Chokher Bali	Prasenjit Chatterjee, Raima Sen	Bengali	Binodhini
2003	Dil Ka Rishta	Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar	Hindi	Tia Sharma
2003	Kuch Naa Kaho	Abhishek Bachchan	Hindi	Namrata Shrivastav
2004	Bride & Prejudice	Martin Henderson, Namrata Shirodkar	English	Lalita Bakshi
2004	Khakee	Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar	Hindi	Mahalakshmi
2004	Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na	Amitabh Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi	Hindi	Diya Malhotra
2004	Raincoat	Ajay Devgan	Hindi	Neerja
2005	Bunty Aur Babli	Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan	Hindi	Item number
2005	Shabd	Sanjay Dutt, Zayed Khan	Hindi	Antara Vashist
2006	Mistress of Spices	Dylan McDermott	English	Tilo
2006	Umrao Jaan	Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan	Hindi	Umrao Jaan
2006	Dhoom 2	Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Uday Chopra	Hindi	Sunehri
2007	Guru	Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Madhavan	Hindi	Sujatha
2007	Provoked	Naveen Andrews, Robbie Coltrane, Nandita Das	English	Kiranjit Alluwalia
2007	Jodhaa Akbar	Hrithik Roshan	Hindi	Jodhaa Bai
2007	Sarkar 2	Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan	Hindi	Neha
2007	The Heart of India		Hindi	Mumtaz Mahal
2007	The Last Legion	Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley	English	Mira
2008	Untitled Tarun Mansukhani Project[11]	Abhishek Bachchan	Hindi

[edit] References

1. ^ ibnlive.com. Its official! Abhishek and Aishwarya are engaged. Retrieved on 29 June, 2007.
2. ^ news.bbc.co.uk. Ash weds Abhishek. Retrieved on 29 June, 2007.
3. ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0119385/
4. ^ boxofficeindia.com. Box office report of 1999. Retrieved on 29 June, 2007.
5. ^ boxofficeindia.com. Box office report of 2002. Retrieved on 29 June, 2007.
6. ^ filmfareawards.indiatimes.com. Ash wins second Best Actress award at the Filmfare. Retrieved on 29 June, 2007.
7. ^ time.com. Devdas at the Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved on 29 June, 2007.
8. ^ [1]
9. ^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0361411/
10. ^ [2]
11. ^ indiafm.com. Ash with Abhishek in Karan's next. Retrieved on 14 January, 2007.

[edit] See also

• List of Indian movie actresses

Awards
Filmfare Award
Preceded by Kajol for Minsaara Kanavu	Best Actress (Tamil) for Jeans 1998	Succeeded by Ramya Krishnan for Padayappa
Preceded by Kajol for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai	Best Actress for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 1999	Succeeded by Karisma Kapoor for Fiza
Preceded by Kajol for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham	Best Actress for Devdas 2002	Succeeded by Preity Zinta for Kal Ho Naa Ho

bollywood

bollywood

Hema Malini Hema Malini is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer... Updated On: 2/12/2007 [Total Votes: 58, Hits: 2059]

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Hema Malini, (born October 16, 1948 in Ammankudi, Tamil Nadu, India) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who starred in several successful Bollywood films in the 1970s, most notably the extremely successful Sholay. Career Hema Malini was educated at Andhra Mahila Sabha, Chennai, Hema first tried to enter films in 1964, but was rejected; Tamil director Sridhar said she had no star appeal. She persisted and found her niche in Bollywood. She debuted in a 1968 film Sapnon ka Saudagar ("The Dreamseller), playing a young teen opposite the ageing superstar Raj Kapoor. With Dev Anand in Johnny Mera Naam (1970), Hema became a top star and with Dharmendra in Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) she was the top female star in Bollywood and became one of the reigning divas of the Bollywood film industry. Her fans called her The Dream Girl of Bollywood (an allusion to her first film, and one of her big hits). She starred in many movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s and is perhaps best remembered for her glamour, style, and accomplished classical dancing. She formed a hit pair with Dharmendra and the duo gave a number of hit movies. She also achieved some strong dramatic or comic moments in films like Trishul, Joshila, Lal Patthar, Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay, Meera and Satte Pe Satta. She wore bell-bottom pant-shirts in films like Trishul and Joshila, which was uncommon for women of that time. After having a back seat from films for a number of years in the 1990s and early 2000s, she has recently made a comeback of sorts. She co-starred with Amitabh Bachchan after two decades since they last appeared together in the successful film Baghban (2003), and played a cameo role (also opposite Bachchan) in the 2004 blockbuster Veer-Zaara. In both films, she played a beautiful , self-possessed, middle-aged married woman rather than the ingenue role of her earlier career. She tried her hand at directing and made the 1992 film Dil Aashna Hai which featured an all-star cast including Shahrukh Khan and the late Divya Bharti. She also directed and starred in the TV Serial Noopur, in which she was depicted as a Bharatanatyam dancer going to America. Personal life Hema Malini is a dedicated Bharatnatyam artiste, a classical dance of India. Her two daughters have trained in the related Odissi school of dance, and the three have performed together at several charity dance concerts. Top Bollywood stars like Sanjeev Kumar and Jeetendra proposed marriage to her, but she married Dharmendra (who never divorced his first wife) and they have two children: Ahana Deol and Esha Deol (born 1982), who is a successful Bollywood actress as well. In 2005, on the TV show Koffee with Karan, she said that she taught her daughters Tamil very well, but had to hire a tutor to help her daughter Esha Deol learn Punjabi for a film. Apparently, Esha's father Dharmendra, whose mother tongue is Punjabi, converses with Hema and his daughters only in Hindi and English. She is the daughter of Shrimati Jaya Chakravarthy who was a film producer. Shrimati Jaya Chakravarthy passed away on June 11th, 2004. She and her husband have been involved in politics, as members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, with the support of the BJP. In February 2004, she joined the party officially. With her film career less hectic, she has been an active member of the party, attending party meetings and rallies and campaigning for the party through various elections. She has once said in an interview that she would never wear revealing outfits in movies, and has been true to her words. It is said that after she shot for a swimsuit scene in a movie, her mother was was so offended that she promised never to repeat it. She exposed her navel in a low-waist saree for the first time on camera only in 2006, after over 30 years of acting. Awards and honors 1973 - Filmfare Best Actress Award, Seeta aur Geeta 1999 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award 2000 - Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India. 2003 - Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1, Baghban (with Amitabh Bachchan) 2003 - 'Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Movie Industry' at the 'Bollywood Awards' scheduled at Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 3. Famous Movies Veer Zaara, Baghban, Censor, Hey Ram, Himalay Putra, Maahir, Aatank, Vivekananda, Hai Meri Jaan, Jamai Raja, Lekin, Paap Ka Ant, Desh Ke Dushman, Santosh, Deshwasi, Galiyon Ka Badshah, Sachche Ka Bol Bala, Rihaee, Mohabbat Ke Dushman, Mulzim, Vijay, Kudrat Ka Kanoon, Jaan Hatheli Pe, Anjaam, Apne Apne, Sitapur Ki Geeta, Ek Chadar Maili Si, Babu, Hum Dono, Yudh, Ramkali, Aandhi Toofan, Durga, Phaansi Ke Baad, Ek Nai Paheli, Ek Naya Itihas, Qaidi, Raaj Tilak, Ram Tera Desh, Sharara, Nastik, Andha Kanoon, Razia Sultan, Taqdeer, Meharbaani, Rajput, Suraag, Satte Pe Satta, Baghawat, Desh Premee, Do Dishayen, Farz Aur Kanoon, Justice Chaudhury, Samraat, Teesri Aankh, Meri Aawaz Suno, Naseeb, Kranti, Aas Paas, Dard, Jyoti, Krodhi, Kudrat, Maan Gaye Ustad, Alibaba Aur 40 Chor, Bandish, The Burning Train, Do Aur Do Paanch, Hum Tere Aashiq Hain, Meera, Dil Ka Heera, Janata Havaldar, Ratnadeep, Apna Khoon, Azaad, Dillagi, Trishul, Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein, Chacha Bhatija, Chala Murari Hero Banne, Dhoop Chhaon, Dream Girl, Kinara, Shirdi Ke Sai Baba, Jaaneman, Mehbooba, Dus Numbri, Aap Beeti, Charas, Maa, Naach Utha Sansar, Sharafat Chod Di Maine, Sholay, Dharmatma, Do Thug, Kahte Hain Mujhko Raja, Khushboo, Pratigya, Sanyasi, Sunehra Sansar, Kasauti, Dost, Amir Garib, Dulhan, Haath Ki Safai, Patthar Aur Payal, Prem Nagar, Joshila, Gehri Chaal, Chhupa Rustam, Jugnu, Prem Parvat, Shareef Budmaash, Babul Ki Galiyaan, Bhai Ho To Aisa, Garam Masala, Gora Aur Kala, Raja Jani, Seeta Aur Geeta, Tere Mere Sapne, Andaz, Lal Patthar, Naya Zamana, Paraya Dhan, Johny Mera Naam, Aansoo Aur Muskan, Abhinetri, Sharafat, Tum Haseen Main Jawaan, Jahan Pyar Mile, Waris, Sapnon Ka Saudagar, Pandava Vanavasam

sunil gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar
Cricketer
Name at birth: Sunil Manohar Gavaskar
Sunil "Sunny" Gavaskar is a record-setting batsman and a national hero to India's cricket fans. His spectacular professional career began with a bang: in his Test debut series against West Indies (1971) he scored a record 774 runs. He has had 81 first class centuries (or hundreds) and scored a total of 25,834 runs, including 10,122 runs in Test cricket (he was the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test). In the 1980s Gavaskar, sometimes called "The Little Master" (as he stands 5' 4"), dominated Indian cricket and became famous for his meticulous approach as well as his distinctive headgear. After his retirement in 1988 he became a commentator and columnist. He has also authored several cricket books and an autobiography, Sunny Days (1980).
Four Good Links
50 not Out
Packed 50th-birthday feature from Rediff.com
CricInfo: Sunil Gavaskar
His basic stats and a short, helpful profile
Wikipedia: Sunil Gavaskar
Still more stats and related info
That's Cricket: Sunil Gavaskar
An archive of past columns by Gavaskar
Vital Stats
Birth
10 July 1949
Birthplace
Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
Death
--
Best Known As
Legendary Indian cricket player

Madona

Madonna was born on the 16th of August 1958 in Rochester, Michigan, USA. Her family lived in Pontiac, Michigan at the time, but were visiting grandmother in Bay City when Madonna decided to appear in the world. She was christened Madonna Louise Ciccone, but her family used to called her 'Little Nonni'. When she was only five years old the mother she loved died of breast cancer. Madonna talks: "One of the hardest thing I've faced in my life was the death of my mother and that's something I really haven't got over to this day." Madonna learnt to be strong and independent early in life and she carries a clear memory of her mother's courage: "She tried to keep her fear deep down inside and not let us know - she never complained".
When the mother died the Ciccone family was torn apart. Madonna and her brothers and sisters were sent to live with various relatives until, after a couple of years to Madonna's horror, her father Tony married their housekeeper Joan Gustafson- a real disciplinarian. Her father insisted that the children have to call his new wife 'mother' but Madonna found that very hard to do. In fact, she never called Joan mother. Madonna was the oldest girl of eight children and that is the reason she caught most of the responsibility. Madonna remembers: "As the oldest girl in my family, I felt like all my adolescence was spent taking care of babies. I think that's when I really thought about how I wanted to get away from all that. I saw myself as the quintessential Cinderella." And about his father Madonna says: "If we didn't have school homework then father find us something do to around the house - he was very adamant about us being productive." And also, "If my father hadn't been so strict I wouldn't be who I am today."
When Madonna was small, she loved to hum along to songs on the radio as she helped with the housework. She remembers: "There was always music in our house, either records or the radio or someone singing on the bathtub." Soon her father wanted her to take piano lessons, because most of the family played an musical instrument and his father was really big on that. This was not to be, Madonna was her father's favorite and persuaded him to let her take dance lessons instead!
Madonna was 12 years old, when she entered the local Catholic high school [Saint Andrews, Saint Fredericks, Academie Du Sacre Coeur]. It was oppressive and she recalls "they would hit you across the back with a stapler if you were disobedient". It was at this school though that she learnt a great deal from classes in tap, jazz dancing, Baton twirling and Gymnastics. It was here that she started to display the extrovert Madonna which hitherto only her family had experienced. "I wanted to do everything everybody told me I couldn't do, I couldn't wear make up, I couldn't wear nylons, I couldn't cut my hair, I couldn't go on dates, I couldn't even go to the movies with my friends". She craved attention by wearing odd socks, appearing in a friend's home movie with a fried egg on her stomach. She also appeared in a local talent contest where she danced to a record by 'The Who' wearing only a bikini and body paint.
As said before, she wanted to do everything she was told she shouldn't or couldn't. She'd roll up her uniform skirt until it was short, She'd go into the bathroom and put make-up and nylon stockings on. She was incredibly flirtatious. Apart from being a flirtatious rebel, Madonna was very good at her schoolwork. Madonna remembers "I was really competitive in school with my grades and stuff coz my father used to give us rewards if we got "A" on our report cards. It wasn't so much that I was interested in learning.....my father gave us 25 cents for every "A" that we got so I wanted to earn the most amount of money." Not so surprisingly Madonna shone in the school's theatre department, where she was given the lead role in several of their productions. After Madonna left school she attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship, where she studied under ballet school owner, Chris Flynn. She recalls "I really loved him. He was my mentor, my father, my imaginary lover, everything."
Pretty soon after studying some time in the university of Michigan Madonna wanted to go to New York to chase her dreams. Everyone was against the idea but her dance teacher said, "Go for it!" - and luckily for us she did! So there she was, finally in New York, standing in the middle of Times Square (on arriving in the big city she had asked the taxi driver to take her to 'the middle of everything'), with just thirty five dollars, a satchel full of tights, dance shoes under one arm and a giant doll under the other. Madonna remembers: "When I came to New York it was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I've ever gotten a taxi-cab, the first time for everything. And I came here with 35 dollars in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done. My goal was to conquer the city and I feel I have." And also "Although I took to New York straight away I was really lonely.
I would take whatever I could in a taxi-cab to wherever I was going to next. I'd take a big breath, grit my teeth, blink back my tears and say, "I'm gonna do it- I have to do it because there's nowhere else for me to go". This was the start of hard times for Madonna. She lived in terrible house, cuz Madonna hadn't money for better. She remembers: "When my father first came to visit me, he was mortified. The place was crawling with cockroaches. There was winos in the hallways, and the entire place smelled like stale beer" Then she won a scholarship at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, where she spent two years working hard at her classes during the day and even harder at night, holding down a succession of part-time jobs in fast food restaurants to make a little extra money.
Sometimes she also visited a club called the "Blue Froggie", the bar where she first met Steve Bray. Who was a talented musician but his relationship with Madonna was more on the physical plane. After a while Madonna realized that the way to the top for her was not going to be through pure modern dance. It wasn't the competition that put her off but the lack of work opportunities. There were too many people going after too few jobs. She started auditioning for theatre and musical parts and ended up being whisked away to Paris, where she was to take part in a revue backing the lead singer Patrick Hernadez. Hernadez's management realized they had something special on their hands with Madonna, but were too slow to do anything about it and when she complained they would give her more money - they didn't. So it was goodbye to Paris and hello again to New York.
Madonna returned to New York with a fiery determination to succeed in the music industry. She moved in again with Dan Gilroy, an old boyfriend. He and some friends that they had met while at dance school, had got a group together called 'The Breakfast Band' - they needed a drummer, so Madonna filled the gap. She then persuaded Dan to write some songs for her to sing as the group's lead singer.
After she had been with them a few months she realized that they were getting nowhere and so went off alone to form her own band with herself as the lead singer. During the following few months they played a succession of dodgy New York clubs to establish a name for themselves on the music circuit. It wasn't easy. The band went through many changes of it's membership and name. At the time the clubs were more interested in Punk and New Wave stuff but Madonna plugged away at it. She was offered the occasional bit of modeling work and a part in a shortm(60 min) 'art' film called 'A Certain Sacrifice'.
Madonna finally got a deal with Gotham Records, worth one hundred dollars a week. Steve Bray went with her as drummer and songwriter. She kept at it and eventually got a record deal with 'Sire Records' for only $5000 and released her first single 'Everybody'. When it was first played on the radio and in clubs, many fans mistook Madonna for an Afro-American disco diva. Record company also didn't put Madonna's picture on this single's cover, they wanted people think that she was Afro-American, to sell more records. 'Everybody' sold over 250 000 copies and went to No.3 in the dance charts. John 'Jellybean' Benitez found Madonna the song 'Holiday' which was an instant hit, but Madonna first hit the top ten with "Borderline". It's rumored that her vocals were mechanically altered to make her sound more girlie. Her first album 'Madonna', released in 1983 won her wide acclaim and millions of fans, plus invitations to move into films.
Not only was Madonna setting the tone music wise, she was also creating a whole new fashion. In "Lucky Star" music video, she showcased her Boy Toy image. Madonna's style was so popular that world famous lingerie store 'Fredericks of Hollywood' reported a 40 % increase in sales, which they put down to the Material Girl's image.
Never letting an opportunity to make a fast buck pass her by, Madonna set up her own "Wazoo" clothing label. Among other things, "Wazoo" manufactured rubber bracelets and Boy Toy belt buckles. It wasn't long before millions of girl fans the world over took on the raggy clothes of their number 1 pop heroine. But it wasn't just the clothes that were developing Madonna's raunchy reputation. Her music was about to take a new and controversial turn. The new album 'Like A Virgin' (1984) established Madonna as a popular artist and soon nearly everyone had a copy of this album.
It gained 3X platina status in the US charts immediately! Interesting is, that Madonna's first album 'Madonna'(1938) was still doing pretty good at the charts when new album was released. The year 1985 was VERY busy for Madonna. The music video 'Material Girl' came out on the 1st of February, the movie "Vision Quest" on February 15th and the movie "Desperately Seeking Susan" on March 29th. Her role in "Desperately Seeking Susan" added a significant facet to her image. Madonna's singles: "Material Girl" and "Crazy For You "(from 'Vision Quest' movie soundtrack) were both top five hits. "Crazy for you" gave Madonna her first Grammy nomination. Madonna's first big tour (she traveled trough whole US) was named after her album- "The Virgin Tour"(1985).
It went from smaller venues to sold-out arenas in a matter of months. During "Material Girl" video shooting she met Sean Penn. And just after saying "I wouldn't wish being Mr. Madonna on anyone", she married with him. Madonna remembers "I was jumping up and down on my bed, performing one of my morning rituals and all of a sudden Sean gets this look in his eye and all of a sudden I knew what he was thinking.
I said: whatever you`re thinking I`ll say yes to. That was his chance, so he popped it." On the 16th of August, 1985- they married in a Malibu media circus, 13 helicopters with paparazzi photographers were soaring in circles during the wedding ceremony, the groom Sean Penn tried to beat some paparazzi photographers, who were spying in the bushes. Madonna remembers: "I didn't think I was going to be married with 13 helicopters flying over my head, it turned into a circus. At first I was outraged but at the end I was laughing."
Madonna's marriage to Sean Penn officially ended on 10th of January,1989 when Madonna - for the second time - filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. She did not get married again until just recently when she married Guy Ritchie.
Since year 1985, Madonna is known as a person who can do anything: she is a singer, an actress, a composer, a producer and an executive. Madonna has success everywhere. She has broken every available radio, video, sales, and box-office record, racking up no fewer than 29 Top Ten singles, 11 of those reaching No. 1.It's world record! 1994's "Take A Bow," lodged in the top spot for seven consecutive weeks and beat the performance of her 1984 breakthrough, "Like A Virgin," which had a six-week run at the top.
All told, Madonna's No. 1 and No. 2 singles have spent a total of 40 weeks at the top of the charts -- almost a solid year of uninterrupted hits! Every studio album she has released has reached Top 15. All, but one has made it into the Top 10, and seven have attained Top 5 status. Madonna's international album sales are estimated at topping 120 million units. Pivotal as recorded music is to Madonna's unparalleled success, she has had more videos, played more often, than any other artist in the history of the MTV network. Multi-awarded for these videos, Madonna has made a ground-breaking contribution to the video art form, as she has in her unstoppable sell-out music tours that combine music, theatrics, spectacle, and dazzling charisma and have packed stadiums globally for nearly two decades.
Those big heartbreakers mean of course big money and that's why (according to several business magazines) Madonna is the richest woman in the world followed closely by Oprah Winfrey. Madonna makes about 130 millions US$ for a year !!! Continuously released albums, singles, music- videos and movies hold Madonna's myth high.
As if she wasn't busy enough already, Madonna dropped another bundle of joy into the world in September. No, not another child. This time, Madonna delivered Music, her first full-length album since the Grammy-winning Ray of Light. It was, of course, a huge hit, but much more than anyone could have expected. Music entered the album sales charts at No. 1, not just in the United States, but in 22 other countries, as well, including her new adopted home, England. Selling 420,000 copies in the first week in the U.S. alone, Music was Madonna's first album to hit the top slot in 11 years — not bad for a 42-year-old mother of two.

cricket

Mirror Mirror Answer me. Is sachin the greatest?
comments by ex cricketers.. media furious over sachin.. doubts among his loyal supporters.. what is his future?? and what is the future of indian cricket without sachin??
Ya, I stood before a HONEST Mirror and asked the mirror, Is there still some magic left in his bat????
The mirror told me..
A 15 year kid was booed and asked to go and drink milk by 1000s of paki supporters, but the kid replied by hitting 4 sixes of, the all time best spin wizard abdul quadir..
The mirror immediately added that, it is not just history even two months back when every one was criticising him for not hitting a match winning hundred he hit a 100 of 76 balls, which proves that he has lot of fuel in him..
I ASKED THE MIRROR IS SACHIN BLOCKING THE ENTRY OF SOME YOUNGSTERS?
The mirror told me, well even in the recently concluded ranji trophy, sachin was the only composed batsman in both the teams to destroy the best bowling attack of that season, who else can replace him? who has played better than him in the domestic circuit?
I THEN ASKED THE MIRROR IS LARA BETTER THAN SACHIN TODAY?The mirror told me, noways.. sachin still want to open and control the proceedings unlike lara who comes in at 3rd, 4th or 5th down to escape the new ball and to play out the 5th and 6th bowler of the opposition.. and there is not a single match winning innings of lara for the past two years, and the MIRROR asked me if i can name a odi match winning innings or lara.
I THEN ASKED THE MIRROR WHO IS THE GREATEST INDIAN CRICKETER?
The mirror answered me.. “I dont know about the greatest indian cricketer”, but I can tell you about the greatest player to play this game ever and his name is Sachin Tendulkar..
I asked the mirror WHY?The mirror replied, when a country was completely deprived of economic, intellectual, natural and sporting wealth. And when half the gold of our country was given to the world bank for loan and when india was considered as a third world nation
and when we indians lacked confidence even to keep our heads high.. when the whole nation was craving for a reason to be proud of.. and when even a fourth position in olympics (PT usha) was considered as a great achievement and a thing to cherish.. a star arose.. sorry a SUN arose.. a 15 year old kid made the indians proud…
Proved that world records can be created even by indians.. he not only changed the indian cricket single handedly.. he changed the outlook of indians single handedly..
Indians were no more losers.. they too can achieve.. he inspired a generation and many more generations to come..
The cricketers of the same team who are elder to him now (Rahul dravid) got inspired form that kid..
And that kid carried the burdens in his shoulders to make a millions to smile. So, He is the greatest sporting personality ever.
I THEN ASKED THE MIRROR IS HE NOT EARNING A LOT AND IS HE NOT SPENDING LOT OF TIME IN ADVERTISEMENTS?
The mirror replied me, well a CEO who is carrying the burden and responsibility of a company is paid a lot, should a person who is carrying the responsibility of a whole nation, not be paid heavily?
Moreover, knowing his responsiblities he has never used his star status to do wrong things, When UBgroup approached him with a heavy amount he simply refused to do an ad for king fisher mineral water.
He is earning a lot and unlike Mr. Steve waugh(taking nothing away from his deeds) he does a lot of things without media hypes for orphans, people with cancer and eye problems.. should such a person not earn more.. Mr. Laloo who has criticised the cricketers and has earned in billions by corruption can he not earn money by his hard work??
I THEN ASKED THE MIRROR WHAT IS THE FUTURE?
The mirror answered me, i am not a magical mirror to tell you future. But i am a honest mirror, I dont know what lies ahead, but without sachin cricket will become just like another sport, you can produce world champions, record breakers and heroes but nobody can inspire a nation for 18 years like what the master has done.
I THEN ASKED THE MIRROR, WHAT ABOUT THE CRITICISM OF THE FORMER PLAYERS?
The mirror answered me, They are doing their duty sincerely and we should not blame them, the media want them to write and pays them so in return the media should earn so they write against the most popular hero so that the program, newspaper or electronic article will be seen by many. They are earning money and fame for themselves and their employers, nothing wrong in that.
I ASKED THE MIRROR, SO WHAT IS WRONG?
The mirror answered me, you stupid, unloyal, shameless, heartless, senseless and brainless idiot.. you enjoyed his batting for nearly two decades and boasted about him and his cricket for nearly two decades and after a two match failure you ditch him and ask for his retirement and believe in those critics than believing in the master. So all the mistake is in your side..
He opened for india and took india single handedly for semi finals and then to finals and against his wish he was brought down the order and both times india failed even to qualify for further rounds.. and you blame him for everything.
It also added that “I dont want to reply to people with short term memory loss like you. good bye”.
And ALAS! the mirror became dumb.. and i could not talk to it anymore..
sorry guys.. now it is upto u to say…!!!

mumbai bomb blast

I WANT TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THOSE MUMBAIKAR WHO LOST LIFE IN 11 JULY TRAIN BOMB BLAST.AS TERROSIT ARE ALSO HUMAN BEING BUT WITHOUT HEART AND SENTIMENT.AS PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT HAS SHOWED COURAGE TO RAID LAL MASJID AND KILL TERROSIT NUMBER NEARLY 100.WHY OUR GOVERNMENT CAN'T DO SUCH THING.NOW WE SHOULD FIGHT TERORRISM AND THAT WOULD BE THE BEST TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO LOST LIFE IN LAST YEAR TRAIN BOMB BLAST