Mohammad Rafi
Mohammed Rafi, whose voice brought to life hundreds of melodies, was born in a village Kotla Sultan Singh near Amritsar long before India attained its independence. But music training beckoned him to Lahore where he cut his musical teeth under the hawk-like eye of Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan. He made his singing debut in the Punjabi film Gul baloch by rendering a duet with Zeenat Begum, 'Soniye Ni Heeriye Ni' composed by Shyamsunder. Wadia Movietone was a prominent film company and it was Homi Wadia who saw the talent in Mohammed Rafi and insisted that he sing for his forthcoming film Sharbati Ankhen under the Music directorship of Feroz Nizami. The voice of Mohammed Rafi encompassed a tremendous range, which is unparalleled. The peculiar trait that separates a playback singer from a classical vocalist is not the range or ability as a singer but the voice quality. With Mohammed Rafi it was the ultimate combination that helped him reign supreme in the field of playback singing. His voice quality combined with his unsurpassed range made him stand apart from his contemporaries. His voice suited any genre of music be it a moving ghazal like Aap Ke Pehloo Main Aakar Ro Diye, a plaintive bhajan like O Duniya Ke Rakhawale, or a wild and whacky Shanker-Jaikishan composition like Chahe Koi Mujhe Jungle Kahe. Mohammed Rafi added his delectable nuances to the melody and made it immortal. His voice had this unique feature of screen adaptability and when it merged with his intelligence as a singer it helped him to tailor his voice across an array of faces that remain entrenched in our memory books. Comedian Johnny Walker had a voice that was queerly rounded. Mohammed Rafi's take on him was phenomenal in songs like Sar Jo Tera Chakraye under S D Burman in Pyasa and Aye Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yaha from CID. Mohammed Rafi managed to sound exactly like Johnny Walker would if he sang the song himself. Rafi summoned Johnny Walker a day or two prior to the song picturization and then contributed his bit to add to the character Johnny Walker played on screen. Honestly speaking it would not be in any way an overstatement to say that heroes like Biswajit (Pukarta chala hoon main), Bharat Bhushan (Zindagi Bhar Nahin Bhoolegi Woh Barsaat Ki Raat), Joy Mukherjee (Bade Miyan Deewane) are remembered more for the songs that were picturised on them with Rafi lending his golden voice to their average acting abilities. Mohammed Rafi was known for his altruistic behavior, which was exhibited on several occasions. He has been known to charge just a token amount as his fees for singing songs of Music Directors who could not afford his regular charges. Many a times Mohammed Rafi has sung songs without charging a single penny to the Music Directors. A case in point is the film Aap ke Deewane with which actor Rakesh Roshan began his phase as a Producer-Director. Rafi sang the title song of the film but did not charge any money because he felt that he liked the song a lot and after all it was only a line, which he had to render. Very few singers were known to be so good at heart. This innate goodness in him came to the fore when he sang most of his songs. In his glorious career Mohammed Rafi won the coveted Filmfare Award of best playback singer no less than six times. He was also decorated with the Padmashri by the Government of India. With the advent of Kishore Kumar as a major singing sensation Rafi sahab's career received a slight jolt in the late 60s and the early 70s but he bounced back with verve in films like Sargam, Karz, Hum Kisise Kam Nahin, Poonam and his last song under the baton of Laxmikant-Pyarelal for the film Aas Paas. He succumbed to the dreaded heart-attack on the 31st of July 1980 -ironically the man was a teetotaler and a non- smoker. He was in his mid fifties. His funeral procession was one of the largest that the city of Mumbai has ever witnessed. The world of Music lost one of its brightest luminaries on 31st July 1980 but his melodious voice still stops music lovers in their tracks. Notable Films: Aar Paar, Baiju Bawra, Barsat Ki Raat, Dosti, Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, Hum Dono, Pyasa, Shaheed, Teesri Manzil
Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1972. He is an independent director, writer and producer. He studied sociology. Rasoulof started his filmmaking with documentaries and short films. For his first film 'Gagooman'(The Twilight, 2002) Rasoulof won the prize for the best film at the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. After his second film 'Jazireh Ahani' (Iron Island, 2005) he began to have problems with the censorship system in Iran and his possibilities for the further production and screening of films were strongly limited or prohibited. To this date Mohammad Rasoulof has produced five feature films which none of have been shown in Iran due to the censorship, while his films are enjoyed by a broad audience in cinemas and festivals outside of Iran. Until 2010 Rasoulof mostly used metaphoric forms of storytelling as his means of expression in his films. Since then he has shifted to using more direct forms of expression. In March 2010 Rasoulof was arrested on set at a filming location together with Jafar Panahi while they were directing a film together. In the following trial, he was sentenced to six years in jail. This sentence was later reduced to one year. He was then released on bail and is still waiting for the sentence to be executed. Mohammad Rasoulof has won many prizes for his films. In 2011, he won the prize for best director in Un Certain Regard for his film 'Bé Omid é Didar'(Goodbye, 2011) at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2013 he won the FIPRESCI Prize in Cannes for the film 'Dast-Neveshteha-Nemisoozand'(Manuscripts Don't Burn, 2013) from the International Federation of Film Critics in Un Certain Regard.
Mohammad Reza Eyni
Mohammad Reza Eyni is an Iranian-based director, producer, writer, and DP, who works independently on socially relevant topics as well as stories about the arts. A recent Sundance film Institute grantee, Eyni is known among the Iranian visual artists for his documentaries about praised visual artists. Mohammad Reza is Tribeca (TFI) alumnus and graduated with an MFA in cinema from Tehran University of Fine Arts. Mohammad Reza's recent co-directed short, Our Iranian Lockdown, featured on the Guardian, was nominated for IDA Awards in the best short-form series category. He is the co-director of a Netflix Original feature documentary, Convergence. Mohammad Reza's recent feature, Cutting Through Rocks, in production, has received support from Sundance film institute, Bertha Foundation, as well as Hot Docs Cross Current Doc Fund, among others.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the last Shah of Iran, his reign lasted from 1941 until his overthrow in 1979. He was educated in Switzerland and was familiar with the western ideas. In 1941, Britain and USSR occupied Iran and forced Reza Shah the Great to resign in favor of his son. Later the young Shah became the most important ally to the West in the Middle East. With Iran's great oil wealth, the Shah became the pre-eminent leader of the Middle East, and Guardian of the Persian Gulf. He abolished the multi-party system of government such that he could rule through a one-party regime in autocratic fashion. He made major changes to curb certain ancient elite factions by breaking up all large and middle-sized estates for the benefit of more than six million small farmers. In what was called 'the White Revolution', he took a number of populist measures, including extending suffrage to women, to favor the people. He instituted exams for Islamic theologians to become established priests ("Mullahs"), which were widely unpopular and broke centuries old religious traditions. His policies led to strong economic growth during the 1960s and 1970s but at the same time, opposition to his autocratic rule increased. On January 18, 1979, he and his family left Iran after over a year of uprising as he didn't want for a civil war to break out in the country. Following the Shah's departure, conservative Muslims led by Ayatollah Khomeini who had returned from exile, staged a revolution. And abolished the monarchy and unfortunately established an Islamic Republic that ruined the country and led to the pointless eight year Iran-Iraq war in which both countries suffered an incredible amount of unnecessary losses. At the same time, The Shah's cancer had worsened and after over a year of exile, in which traveling from country to country seeking what he hoped to be a temporary residence. He was finally welcomed by President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and remained there until his death on June 27, 1980. He is interred at Al-Refai Mosque in Egypt.
Mohammad S. Hyderabadwala
Mohammad S. Hyderabadwala is known for Aetbaar (2004), Raja Hindustani (1996) and Inteha (2003).
Mohammad SHiblu
Mohammad SHiblu is known for Anek (2022), Ganapath (2022) and Jawan (2023).
Mohammad Sadiq
Mohammad Sadiq (also known as Mohd Sadiq and Muhammad Sidique) is a famous Punjabi duet Singer. He has acted in various movies as well. He is known for his work in movies like Putt Jattan De (1981), Jatt Jeona Mour (1991), Saida Jogan (1979), Rano (1982) & Patola (1987) and many other movies.
Mohammad Salauddin
Mohammad Salauddin is known for Sitapur: The City of Gangsters (2021), Shashank (2023) and Tapri Talks (2022).
Mohammad Salman Khan
Mohammad Salman Khan is an actor known for Heropanti 2. Mohammad Salman Khan has been roped-in for Tiger Shroff's next film Heropanti 2. For Mohammad Salman Khan, it was a dream come true when he was roped-in for Tiger Shroff's next film Heropanti 2. Mohammad Salman Khan is a young chap who hails from a small place in Haryana. Ever since the 19-year-old actor has landed in Mumbai he always wanted to work with bigwigs and Tiger Shroff has remained his first choice.The actor announced his next film as Heropanti 2, which will be produced under his banner Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Productions in association with Viacom 18 Motion Pictures.
Mohammad Samad
Mohammad Samad was born on 7 May 2000. He is an actor, known for Chhichhore (2019), Tumbbad (2018) and Gattu (2011).