Famous personalities of Haryana | HPSC Preparation: All subjects - HPSC (Haryana) PDF Download

Manushi Chhillar

• Manushi Chhillar, born on May 14, 1997, is a model and beauty pageant titleholder from India.
• She won the Miss World 2017 title after previously winning Femina Miss India 2017.
• Chhillar is the sixth Indian woman to become Miss World.
• She represented Haryana in the Femina Miss India 2017 competition and was crowned Miss Photogenic.
• Chhillar won the Femina Miss India 2017 competition and earned the opportunity to represent India at Miss World 2017.

Om Puri

• Om Prakash Puri was an Indian actor known for his roles in mainstream commercial Indian films, as well as independent and art films.
• He was famous for his author-backed roles in films like Aakrosh (1980), Arohan (1982), Sadgati (1981), and Tamas (1987), as well as light-hearted roles in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and Chachi 420 (1997).
• Puri had multiple collaborations with director Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani.
• He also acted in non-Indian productions in the United States, Britain and Pakistan.
• Puri received Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 1990, and in 2004, was made an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
• It was rumored that he would receive the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in the future.

Jasraj

• Pandit Jasraj is an Indian classical vocalist who follows the Mewati gharana of Hindustani classical music.
• He was born on January 28, 1930 in Pili Mandori, a village located in the Hisar district of Haryana. He belonged to a middle-class family and his father, Motiram, was a classical singer who died when Jasraj was four years old.
• Jasraj grew up in Hyderabad and learned music from various musicians of the Mewati gharana by traveling to Sanand. Later, in 1946, he moved to Kolkata and started singing classical music on the radio.
• He got married to Madhura Shantaram, the daughter of film director V. Shantaram, whom he had met in 1960 in Mumbai. They tied the knot in 1962 and initially lived in Kolkata before moving to Mumbai in 1963. They have a son named Shaarang Dev Pandit and a daughter named Durga Jasraj who is a television anchor and presenter.
• Jasraj's wife, Madhura, has directed documentaries, children's plays, ballets, and even films. She made a movie on Jasraj's life in 2009 and directed her first Marathi film, Aai Tuzha Aashirwad, in 2010, which featured her husband and Lata Mangeshkar singing in Marathi.
• Jasraj's nephews, Jatin-Lalit, are music composers, and Sulakshana Pandit and Vijayta Pandit, both of whom played leading roles in many Hindi films, are his nieces.

Sonu Nigam

• Sonu Nigam (born on July 30, 1973) is a versatile Indian artist, who works as a singer, musician, composer, music producer, recordist, music programmer, live performer, and actor.
• He is known for his prominent singing in Hindi and Kannada language films. He has also lent his voice to songs in several other Indian languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Tulu, Assamese, Odia, Nepali, and Maithili.
• Apart from singing for movies, he has also released several pop albums in India and has acted in several films.
• Sonu Nigam is considered to be one of the highest-paid singers in India.

Preeti Singh

• Preeti Singh, born on October 26, 1971, is an Indian author who is currently based in Chandigarh. She has been a professional writer for the last 15 years before authoring two best-selling novels. 
• In 2012, she published her debut novel titled Flirting with Fate, which was released by Mahaveer Publishers in India. Her second novel, Crossroads, was published by Authors Press in 2014. 
• It has been recognized as the first Indian fiction novel with real-life people as characters, earning a place in the India Book of Records. In December 2015, she was awarded the Swayamsiddha Award by the Anupama Foundation in Lucknow, which is given to self-made women who have achieved success in their respective fields. 
• Her latest novel, a crime thriller titled Watched, was published by Omji Publishing House in October 2016.

Rajkummar Rao

• Rajkummar Rao is an Indian actor who is considered to be one of the most talented actors in Bollywood.
• He has won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award, and has been nominated for three Filmfare Awards.
• He was born and raised in a family from Ahirwal in Gurgaon, Haryana, and graduated with a degree in arts from the University of Delhi.
• He later studied method acting at the Film and Television Institute of India.
• After moving to Mumbai to pursue a film career, he made his debut in the experimental anthology film Love Sex Aur Dhokha in 2010.
• He appeared in small roles in several successful Hindi films before gaining recognition for his performance in the drama film Kai Po Che! in 2013.
• He received critical acclaim for his role as Shahid Azmi in the biographical drama Shahid in 2013, which earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.
• He also gained popularity for his lead role in the romantic comedy Queen in 2014 and the drama CityLights in the same year.
• His performance in the biographical drama Aligarh in 2016 earned him critical acclaim and a second nomination for Best Supporting Actor at Filmfare.

Dayachand Mayna

• Dayachand Mayna was a celebrated poet and folklore artist from Haryana, known for his works in the Haryanvi language. He was born on March 10, 1915, in Mayna village of Rohtak district in Haryana, and was a Valmiki by caste. 
• His poems and plays were critical of the prevailing Brahminism of his time, and he was famous for his Saang, Raagni, and Kissas (plays in Haryanvi). One of his most famous plays was based on the life of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He wrote 16 Kissas and over 100 Raagniyaan. Dayachand Mayna passed away on January 20, 1993.
• Dayachand Mayna is widely considered to be one of the most important poets and folklore artists that Haryana has ever produced, often referred to as the John Milton of Haryana. He is the only poet from Haryana who has been given the title of Rashtriya Kavi (National Poet), and his poetry in Haryanvi is considered on par with that of Lakhmi Chand.
• In addition to his work as a poet, Dayachand Mayna is also remembered as a freedom fighter for his service in the Indian National Army. Many notable poets and artists of Haryana were his disciples, including the famous Chajjulal Silana.