Facts and Facks about Bollywood Celebrities

The world is a global marketplace and where once India was faced with watching Hollywood reruns, Bollywood is now one of the largest most powerful motion picture production facilities in the world.

Statistics: 1000 Hindi-language films are produced every year. Ticket sales exceed 3.6 billion.

Hollywood has its stars, so too does Bollywood and while the world's tabloids may focus on Britney Spears, Yana Gupta and Abhay Deol are not far behind with a relationship that was secret, but now has been made public.

Randeep Hooda and Sushmita Sen are rumored to be having secret meetings on horseback, but the rumors were denied... "Where do you hear all this? Its complete rubbish," laughs Sushmita. Aishwarya Rai has no intentions of quitting movies simply because she is married; and is paired with Gerard Depardieu in the film Asterix at the Olympic Games.

Another of Bollywood's babes Monalisa (real name Antara Biswas) continues to draw attention and gasps from men (and some women) across India as she posses in revealing photographs and videos. Talking of photoshoots Gauri Khan graces the cover of US magazine "Vogue" and tells all in an expo'se.

Deepika Padukone a beautiful Bollywood heartbreaker, makes movies (latest Om Shanti Om) and works toward a Bachelors degree at Indira Gandhi National Open University. Heartbreakers John Abraham and Bipasha Basu have exchanged rings and will be married soon. Bollywood may never be the same with these eligible Bollywood stars getting hitched.

Bollywood stars don't let the fame get in the way of their faith though. Amitabh Bachchan has not forgotten his faith recently travelling to the Golden Temple and the Durgiana temple to offer prayers for the actor's mother actor's mother Teji Bachchan.

Sonali Kulkarni, breaks her silence and tells the world about her transparent dress, claiming she wears it all the time and it was merely a trick of the light. As for this reporter, I plan to travel with a flash light from now on.

Bollywood news, much like Hollywood loves to have a glimpse into the minds, hearts and lives of their stars. It is sometimes amazing that a movie star is simply a person; living life just like the rest of us.

Chhote Nawab has committed his heart to Kareena Kapoor. While there is rumor of trouble, Chhote says, "A lot of people say a lot of things. She's the most wonderful person I know".

Bollywood is not above capitalizing on the fact their actors and actresses often undertake new, challenging and often controversial roles. Mallika Sherawat is being considered by director Kundan Shah's for the role of a prostitute-turned-politician in his new film. Rakesh Roshan has deprived Deepika Padukone of fame and fortune and the Bollywood "A list", turning her down for consideration in the new film staring Hrithik Roshan.

Bollywood may play second to Hollywood, but those times may soon change if writer's strikes and inflated production continue to drive producers away from the golden shores of LA. Bollywood is here to stay and Britney Spears may soon be calling. Bollywood has its own internationally known stars such as the actress Shilpa Shetty who has recently appeared in the controversial United Kingdom's Big Brother television program.

Fact or Fiction: Bollywood is a real city in India? Bollywood is not an actual place; it was created in the minds of the press. (Bombay and Hollywood) And while there are many critics, stating this makes us appear as second cousins to Hollywood; it is a name that seems destined to remain.

Shahrukh Khan, How Became King Khan

Shahrukh Khan is perhaps the most loved Indian actor alive. From the most sought after actor to the most influential pop culture icon, the story of king khan is an inspiration to thousands of aspiring actors. Born on 02 November, 1965 in New Delhi to a middle class Muslim Family, Shahrukh never thought he would become one of the most popular men in the world. Both his parents migrated from Pakistan to India during the partition of Indian sub-continent in 1947.

Shahrukh Khan studied at St. Columba's school in New Delhi. He was not particularly good in studies but he was very much involved in extra curricular activities like sports and drama. Shahrukh Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991 to pursue a career in Bollywood. He had already done a few television series in Delhi and though he was not a household name at that time but he wasn't a nobody either. The same year even before sigining up a single movie in Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan married Gauri Chibber. Gauri Chibber belonged to a Hindu Family and neither she nor Shahrukh changed their religions. The wedding was performed as a traditional Hindu wedding.

Before landing in Mumbai, Shahrukh had already done his homework. He learned acting while working with famous theatre director Barry John's Theatre Action Group. After that in 1987 he debuted on television by appearing as commando Abhimanyu in t.v. series Fauji. Later he worked with Aziz Mirza for the tv series Circus. Shahrukh's bollywood debut movie was Deewana released in 1992. It was a box office hit and Shahrukh's career launched with a great success, however his next film Maya Memsaab didn't do that well on the box office. In 1992, Shahrukh Khan appeared in two very similar roles of an anti-hero in two different movies Darr and Bazigar. Darr was produced and directed by Yash Chopra one of the most successful Hindi film directors of all time. Both these movies did great business, not only these movies established Shahrukh Khan as the most popular new actors in Bollywood, they also had huge influence on the popular culture.

Looking at King Khan's career one would notice that Shahrukh worked with some directors more than others. He worked in several movies with Aziz Mirza, Yash Chopra and his son Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, Farah Khan, etc. He has very good friendship with all these film makers and many claim that these friendships helped Shahrukh a lot in his career. His performances are often compared with fellow actors Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan. He has won Padma Shri one of the highest Indian civil awards for his career.

In the past decade Shah rukh Khan diversified his career a lot. He hosted TV show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati", appeared in advertisements, signed brand ambassador deals with world famous brands, produced big budget Bollywood movies, and bought a cricket team Kolkatta Knight Riders. He lives with his wife and two children in his house called "Mannat" which is situated in Bandra and is worth more than USD $27.5 Million.