Notable Names Across Indian Cinema

Allah-Rakha Rahman, or more popularly known as A. R. Rahman is called the Mozart of Madras for a reason. This is a man who has gained recognition worldwide, earned countless awards and made a place in the hearts of millions of people with his music. Roja (1992) both dubbed and original, was a critically and commercially successful film and composing music for this Mani Ratnam masterpiece is what gave him his big break. He has since then produced hits for countless films, including Dil Se (1998), Alaipayuthey (2000, Tamil), Rang De Basanti (2006), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and Rockstar (2011).

One of the most underrated jobs in the film industry is probably that of sound engineers. Resul Pookutty is one such talent who shot to fame after his work in the critically acclaimed film Black (2005) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for which he received a BAFTA (Best Sound) and an Academy Award (Best Sound Mixing). He has designed sounds for English, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam cinemas. Some of his earlier works are Saawariya (2007) and Gandhi My Father (2007). Pookutty has then gone on to work his charm on countless movies, including the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Ra.One (2011), the Oscar nominated Malayalam movie Adaminte Makkan Abu(2011), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), the animated Tamil movie Kochadaiiyaan (2012) and Highway (2014). He also worked in Leslee Udwin's banned BBC documentary, India's Daughter, featuring the highly publicized Nirbhaya case, and even won a Golden Reel award for the same. 

4. Choreographers 
Indian cinema, especially Bollywood, is known worldwide for its long movies, vibrant colours and musicals. While these may be a misconception because not all Indian movies follow those set specifics, we can all agree on one thing - the film industry has churned out its fair share of dance numbers. After all, who can forget Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's mesmerizing performances in"'Dholi Taro" and "Dola Re Dola" or Hrithik Roshan's impossible dance moves in "Main Aisa Kyun Hun". Chinni Prakash is one such choreographer who is responsible for the introduction of classic dance moves in Indian cinema. The pelvic thrust brought him his big break in the industry in the form of "Jhumma Jhumma" from the movie Hum (1991), which awarded him a Filmfare (Best Choreography). Before Hum, he had worked in many big films such as Ram Aur Shyam (1967), Haathi Mere Saathi (1971), Sabse Bada Rupaiya (1976), Saajan (1991), and continued with Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and Coolie No. 1 (1995). As they say, the rest is history and he was one of the most sought out choreographers of the time. Unfortunately, due to ever changing demands of Bollywood, his style of choreography was not in requirement. But that never deterred him and he went on to win a National Award for his choreography of the song "Azeem-o-Shaan-Shahenshah" from the historical drama film Jodhaa Akbar (2008). Post Jodhaa Akbar, he has choregraphed numerous hits including songs in the Dabangg series (2010, 2012), Besharam (2013), Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) and has also done movies beyond Bollywood, like Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi (2012,Tamil) and Thalaivaa (2013,Tamil).