Bollywood is one of the most power packed cinema industries in the world and it has been entertaining global and domestic audiences right from the Black and White period. There has never been a dearth of stars in Bollywood as some of the actors that Bollywood produced were the best, not only confined till Indian cinema but also with respect to global cinema. The movie stars who ruled different phases of Bollywood  had a lot of fan following because of their excellent  and natural performances, characteristic styles and great looks. These actors are on par with Hollywood actors in terms of their performance. Today, a lot of Bollywood actors have become big celebrities and have marked their presence with excellence in performing skills in Bollywood too.

Personalities of Bollywood

Bollywood, or the Hindi film industry, based out in Mumbai is the most entertaining and attractive film industries in the country. This is because the actors in Bollywood are great personalities who give in all of their commitment and hard work in movies with the sole objective of touching the hearts of millions of movie-watchers. The base for Bollywood movies is the happenings of everyday life, politics and all other events in the society. However, when these are presented on celluloid, they are huge, hopeful and full of colours and people watching these movies feel happy and content. Some movies that are commercial make actors, great heroes, fight a thousand people and live happily ever after, while some movies depict the exact reality of life.

A lot of people are involved in making a Bollywood movie. Apart from the lead and secondary actors, the film needs a director, producer, cameraman, technician, light boy, spot boy, choreographer, script writer, lyricist, music composer, singers, make up man, fashion designer and a host of other people to help and support all departments.

Notable Personalities

Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan is known as the “Perfectionist of Bollywood” not without reason. He is a great actor, greater director, a thinking producer and a shrewd marketing expert. He is also involved in many social welfare programmes and is a role model to many. He received the Padma Sri Award in 2003 and Padma Bhushan award in 2010. He has been part of many movies over the years, however his best performances were in Rang de Basanti, Lagaan and 3 Idiots.

Salman Khan

Fondly called “Sallu Bhai” by his near and dear ones, Salman Khan is one of the best looking actors of Bollywood. He was born in Indore on 27th December 1965 and apart from acting in movies, he is also involved in various social welfare activities like ‘Being Human’. His father was a reputed script writer, Salim Khan and his mother is Salma Tagore. His step-mother Helen was one of the most beautiful item girls of yesteryears. He has acted in lots of movies ever since his foray into Bollywood and is known for his fit body and biceps he exhibits in all his movies. He is considered to be a great actor and some of his best performances are in movies like Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Dabangg.

Shah Rukh Khan

He is the ultimate King Khan of Bollywood. He started off his career in TV serials at a small level and then entered into Bollywood after a lot of struggle. He is a huge inspiration to youngsters as he is a wonderful actor, brilliant producer and witty TV anchor cum presenter. He entered into Bollywood with his debut movie, Deewana and there has been no looking back ever since. He has so far acted in many immortal movies produced by some of the biggest names in Bollywood. He has got a staggering number of 14 Filmfare awards out of which 8 are Best Actor Awards. He is a Padma Sri Awardee and some of his great movies include “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Chak De India and Kuch Kuch Hota Hain. Most of the movies that he acted either as the protagonist or the antagonist went on to be huge blockbusters, which is why he is known to be the most bankable actors of Bollywood.

Amitabh Bachchan

Fondly known as Big B, Amitabh Bachchan is the most respected actors of Bollywood today. He was born to Harivansh Rai Bachchan (a great poet in the earlier days) and Teji Bachchan. His brother’s name is Ajitabh. Once Amitabh completed his studies in Uttar Pradesh, he moved to Mumbai to start a career in Hindi films. However, he was rejected because most of the movie makers wanted actors with fair skin, which Amitabh lacked. After a lot of struggle, he got a break and was selected to act in a Hindi movie. The rest, they say, is history. Some of his great movies are Sholay, Baghban and Agneepath.

Legends of Bollywood

Dilip Kumar

Dilip Kumar was the undisputed king of Bollywood during the 1940s and 1950s as most of his movies were blockbusters. His style of acting and dialogue delivery captivated many and he was active in films till 1980s.He is considered to the King of Emotions even today.

Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna was officially the first superstar of Bollywood as every movie that he acted became a hit. He has a record number of Golden Jubilee (73), Platinum Jubilee (48), Golden Jubilee (25), Silver Jubilee (22) and average hits (8). He was born in Amritsar on 29th December 1942 and was known all over the country because of the diversity of roles that he played.

Dev Anand

Dev Anand brought his own unique style into Bollywood. His mannerism of shaking  his head while talking, scarf, body language, style and dialogue delivery makes him an evergreen legend.

Kishore Kumar

Till date, there has been no Bollywood personality who has been able to even come close the multifaceted personality of Kishore Kumar. He was a brilliant playback singer, actor, director, music composer, producer, lyricist, script writer and screenplay writer. He had won 8 Filmfare Awards in the Best Male Playback singer category and has sung in many languages including Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Bengali, Malayalam, Oriya, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Kannada and Gujarati. The Madhya Pradesh Government honoured him with the “Lata Mangeshkar Award” for music. In the subsequent years, another award named “Kishore Kumar Award” was introduced by the MP Government for exemplary performance in music and films.

Raj Kapoor

Raj Kapoor is still the ‘Showman of Indian Cinema’. He was born on 14th December 1924 and passed away on 2nd June 1988. He performed the role of actor, director and producer to great perfection. His award kitty includes 2 National Awards and 5 Filmfare Awards. He was also nominated twice by the grand prize of Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival during 1951 (Awaara) and 1954 (Boot Polish). His film, Awaara, was ranked as one of the top ten global performances by the famous Times Magazines. Raj Kapoor made movies to attract international audiences. He won the Padma Bhushan and the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award during 1971 and 1987 respectively for his great contributions to Bollywood.

Dada Saheb Phalke

Born on 30th April 1870, Dadasaheb Phalke’s original name was Dhundiraj Govind Phalke. He made the first ever Indian movie during Bollywood’s silent era, Raja Harishchandra and he was a director, script write and a producer. He is considered to be the ‘Father of Indian Cinema’. In all the 19 years that he was active in movies, he made 95 movies and 26 short films. He passed away on  16th February 1944. Some of the greatest movies that he made are Satyavan Savitri during 1914, Lanka Dahan during 1917, Mohini Bhasmasur during 1913, Sri Krishna Janma during 1918 and Kaliya Mardan during 1919.