Showing all artists born in February 20

Hiphop Aadhi is an Indian musical duo consisting of vocalist Adhithya "Adhi" Venkatapathy and disc jockey Jeeva based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Initially underground, the duo achieved wide recognition through the track "Club le Mabbu le"; a radio performance of the song received over two million views within a week of its release on YouTube in 2011. Remy Martin, after hearing the song and being impressed with their determination, eventually launched Hiphop Tamizha as an official brand. In 2012, Hiphop Tamizha released their debut album Hiphop Tamizhan which became a critical and commercial success. According to Adhi, Hiphop Tamizha is a "movement started to promote hip hop culture" in Tamil Nadu. The duo have also contributed to numerous works outside independent music, including performing in films and launching a clothing brand.

Nafisa Rizvi Khan (also known as Jiah Khan, 20 February 1988 – 3 June 2013) was an British American actress, model and singer who appeared in Hindi films.  She made her film debut in the 2007 Ram Gopal Verma film Nishabd for which she was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She was later noted for portraying a modern, independent woman in Ghajini which was the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2008. Her performance in the latter earned her significant acclaim. She last appeared in Sajid Khan's romantic comedy Housefull, which was her second highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2010. Khan had catapulting herself into the Bollywood 100 Crore Club with Ghajini and Housefull.

On June 4, 2013, she was found dead in her apartment in her residence in the Sagar Sangeet building in Juhu, Mumbai after hanging herself.

Khan was born into a Muslim family in New York City.  She was the daughter of Ali Rizvi Khan, an Indian American and Rabiya Amin, a Hindi film actress in the 1980s from Agra, Uttar Pradesh.  Khan grew up in London where she completed her Edexcel O and A Level with a brilliant result of 5 As, before moving to Mumbai to pursue a career in Bollywood.  She has two sisters Kavita and Karishma.  She was inspired to enter Bollywood after watching Ram Gopal Verma's former protege Urmila Matondkar’s movie Rangeela at the age of six.

Khan was a trained opera singer and had recorded six pop tracks by the time she was 17.  Khan studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Manhattan, though she quit upon receiving a movie offer.  She learnt the dance forms of salsa, belly dancing, kathak, lambada, jazz, samba and reggae.

Khan started her acting career as a child actress at the age of nine, when she essayed the role of Young Meghna in the 1998 Mani Ratnam's terror film Dil Se.., in which she starred opposite Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta.

In 2004, at the age of 16, Khan was signed to act in Mukesh Bhatt's Tumsa Nahin Dekha but backed out when both she and the director felt the role was too mature for her; she was immediately replaced by Dia Mirza. Two years later, in 2007, at the age of 18, khan made her debut in Ram Gopal Verma's controversial romantic thriller Nishabd, as Jiah, where she acted opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Despite the provocative content in the film, it performed poorly at the box office, and earned mixed reviews from critics.

Nonetheless, Khan received a mostly positive reception for her performance, with critics noting her confidence, attitude, and sex appeal. Raja Sen praised her portrayal of Jia, a seductive, free-spirited teenager, calling her performance "nuanced" and "impressive".  Taran Adarsh agrees, saying that "Newcomer Jiah Khan is supremely confident. Loaded with attitude and sex appeal, the newcomer carries off her part with flourish. Her scenes with Bachchan are superb!"  Rajeev Masand adds that she is "perfectly cast" for the film.  She was also nominated for a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, however lost to Deepika Padukone.

The following year, she appeared alongside Aamir Khan and Asin in A.R. Murugadoss's psychological thriller Ghajini, the Hindi remake of its namesake. She played Sunita, a medical student who investigates the history of Sanjay Singhania, portrayed by Aamir Khan. The film gathered much appreciation from critics, and went on to become the highest grossing Bollywood film of 2008, as well as earn the all-time blockbuster status.  Khan's performance attracted mixed reviews, with critics agreeing that her role was "sketchy".  Despite this, Sukanya Verma compliments her performance, commenting that Khan "continues to strike as an exquisite and expressive actress."

Khan made her last film appearance in a supporting role as Devika K. Samtani, the ex-wife of Akshay Kumar's character, in Sajid Khan's Housefull also alongside Riteish Deshmukh, Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta in 2010. Housefull was the second time she appeared in the highest grossing Bollywood film of the year.

In the months before her death, she had signed three South Indian films and one Hindi film Aap Ka Saaya] (Hindi version of Tamil film Yaaradi Nee Mohini).

Death

Khan committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at around 11:45 pm in a bedroom of her Juhu residence in Mumbai on Monday, June 3, 2013, when her mother Rabiya and sister Kavita were not at home.

Her body was taken to the casualty morgue at the JJ Hospital in Byculla, for a forensic examination and autopsy.  Her body was then brought back to her residence around 7am on Wednesday, June 5 2013, following the post-mortem.

On the same day her Namaz-e-janaza took place at Sonapur Kabar Walla Masjid and she was buried at Juhu Muslim cemetery after Dhuhr prayer as per Islamic rites. Bollywood actors in attendance included Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Riteish Deshmukh, Siddharth Mallya, Sophie Choudry, Urvashi Dholakia, Prem Chopra, Ranjeet, Deepak Parashar, Sanjay Khan and Nagma in attendance.  Bollywood stars reacted with shock at her death.

On June 7, 2013, a six-page suicide note was found by her sister.

The note is reported to indicate that she had planned to end her life. A transcript was released by Khan's family which included mention to a recent abortion.

On June 8, 2013 Khan's condolence meeting was held at Vile Parle Medical Club to pray for Jiah. Bollywood actors in attendance included Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Randhir Kapoor, Prateik Babbar, Sanjay Kapoor, Shweta Pandit, Kiran Rao, Urvashi Dholakia, Ranjeet, Deepak Parashar, Sanjay Khan and Nagma.

Suraj Pancholi, who was allegedly in a live-in relationship with Khan, was taken into custody in association with her suicide on 10 June, 2013.  The Bombay High Court granted him bail on 2 July 2013.

Controversy over Death -Suicide or Murder?

In October 2013, Rabiya Khan filed a petition in the High Court, claiming that her daughter was murdered. “Rabiya feels the investigation was not done properly. If you go by the medical opinion and other evidence, it would indicate something is missing as far as suicide is concerned. Jiah Khan’s case is apparently a case of murder,” Dinesh Tiwari, Ms. Rabiya’s lawyer told a leading News agency.

The Petition read "The Petitioner states that initially they all were in the dark as to what led to her daughter taking drastic step of committing suicide. Until recently the Petitioner thought that her daughter had committed suicide and the Police were really doing their job in the best possible manner. However, after collecting the photograph of the Deceased which were taken on the date of incident and which were not available to the Petitioner until recent past, that she started believing that the Respondent has not only done shoddy investigation but also the present case could be a case of murder of her daughter. However, after being informed by the well wisher of the Deceased and after discovering certain letters and correspondences exchanged by and between the Deceased and the Accused i.e. Mr. Sooraj Pancholi, she was highly shocked to understand that the ill treatment and the continuous harassment and the subsequent betrayal committed by the Accused had lead to death of her daughter, if the case is not of Murder,” read the petition.

Graphic Pictures of Jiah's dead body were released by Rabiya, which clearly indicated some foul play, suggesting that she may have been strangled by a belt and then her body hung from the ceiling fan. Strange marks can be seen around Jiah's neck, the source of which cannot be identified. Also marks were found on her forearm as if it was grasped tightly by someone, to subdue a struggling Jiah. Rabiya Khan has directly pointed fingers at the Pancholi's. The matter is still in court.

Legacy

An upcoming episode of the TV series Yeh Hai Aashiqui will be loosely based on Jiah Khan's suicide, with Mihika Verma and Rithvik Dhanjani playing the central characters.

Vi Anand is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works primarily in Telugu cinema. Anand made his film debut in Appuchi Gramam in Kollywood and later made Tiger with Sundeep and Rahul.

Majith is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked on Tamil films. He made his debut with the 2002 social drama film, Thamizhan starring Vijay and Priyanka Chopra. He has since worked on lower budget ventures.

In 2001, producer G. Venkateswaran signed on Thirupathisamy to direct Vijay in an action film titled Velan. The film, a remake of the director's Telugu film Azad, saw Priyanka Chopra, winner of the beauty pageant Miss World 2000, being brought in by Venkateswaren to make her debut and play the lead female role. However, before production began, Thirupathisamy died in an accident and Venkateswaren duly decided to give debutant Majith a chance to direct a film with the same cast.

A social drama, campaigning for the widespread knowledge of legal rights, the film created anticipation prior to release. The film opened to mixed reviews from film critics on 14 April 2002 and Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu praised the film adding that "dialogue is a strong point of the film". The critic from Rediff.com also gave the film a positive review stating that the director had succeeded in making a good debut, while another critic labelled the film as "meaningful cinema" though stated that some scenes were overdone. In comparison, a reviewer from Bizhat.com stated that "the message conveyed leaves you exhausted and stressed", giving the film a below average review.
He began work on his second film, the thriller Thunichal in May 2005 and filming was completed by the end of the year, except for the dubbing portions.

Subsequently, the film was postponed indefinitely due to financial restraints, and remained unreleased. The actors and director involved, moved on to participate with other projects. In 2008, he worked on the romantic drama Ki Mu, featuring newcomers. The film progressed with little publicity and had a low key release at the box office, while Majith also appeared in acting role. The film received negative reviews with a critic noting the film "copying one or two well-known trend-setters, seems nothing short of sacrilege when seen on screen".

The success of Arun Vijay's Malai Malai, meant that the producers of Thunichal decided to use his new-found publicity to relaunch their own film. Arun Vijay, worried that the move could hamper his new-found image at the box office, lodged a complaint with the Nadigar Sangam, alleging that the producers of Thunichal were attempting to release the film without his voice.

Soon after, he retracted his statements and refuted that the film would not damage his reputation.Upon release, the film received highly negative reviews. A reviewer from Behindwoods.com claimed in regard to the cast that "Arun Vijay seems to be in a lost plot after his Malai Malai high but that Ramana impressed with "his cold villainy" and the "other performances don’t count for much".

The director was criticized, citing that "he fails to hold the viewers’ attention right from the start" and a "few interesting scenes which would have enhanced the quality of the film". Regarding the work from the technical crew, the reviewer cited that "there is nothing much that stands out", while the music by Premji Amaran "fails to make any sort of impact".

In February 2017, he began a female-centric thriller film titled Torchlight starring Anjali and Sadha.