title: Albanian language

text: The hypothesis of the "Balkan Indo-European" continuum posits a common period of prehistoric coexistence of several Indo-European dialects in the Balkans prior to 2000 BC. To this group would belong Albanian, Ancient Greek, Armenian, Phrygian, fragmentary attested languages such as Macedonian, Thracian, or Illyrian, and the relatively well-attested Messapic in Southern Italy. The common features of this group appear at the phonological, morphological, and lexical levels, presumably resulting from the contact between the various languages. The concept of this linguistic group is explained as a kind of language league of the Bronze Age (a specific areal-linguistics phenomenon), although it also consisted of languages that were related to each other. A common prestage posterior to PIE comprising Albanian, Greek, and Armenian, is considered as a possible scenario. In this light, due to the larger number of possible shared innovations between Greek and Armenian, it appears reasonable to assume, at least tentatively, that Albanian was the first Balkan IE language to branch off. This split and the following ones were perhaps very close in time, allowing only a narrow time frame for shared innovations.


title: Albanian language

text: The first attested written mention of the Albanian language was on 14 July 1284 in Ragusa in modern Croatia (Dubrovnik) when a crime witness named Matthew testified: "I heard a voice crying on the mountain in the Albanian language" ().


title: Albanian language

text: The Albanian language is also mentioned in the Descriptio Europae Orientalis dated in 1308:"Habent enim Albani prefati linguam distinctam a Latinis, Grecis et Sclauis ita quod in nullo se intelligunt cum aliis nationibus."


title: Albanian language

text: (Namely, the above-mentioned Albanians have a language that is different from the languages of Latins, Greeks and Slavs, so that they do not understand each other at all.)The oldest attested document written in Albanian dates back to 1462, while the first audio recording in the language was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in Vienna.


title: Albanian language

text: However, as Fortson notes, Albanian written works existed before this point; they have simply been lost. The existence of written Albanian is explicitly mentioned in a letter attested from 1332, and the first preserved books, including both those in Gheg and in Tosk, share orthographic features that indicate that some form of common literary language had developed.


title: Albanian language

text: During the five-century period of the Ottoman presence in Albania, the language was not officially recognised until 1909, when the Congress of Dibra decided that Albanian schools would finally be allowed.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian is considered an isolate within the Indo-European language family; no other language has been conclusively linked to its branch. The only other languages that are the sole surviving members of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and Greek.


title: Albanian language

text: The Albanian language is part of the Indo-European language group and is considered to have evolved from one of the Paleo-Balkan languages of antiquity,


title: Albanian language

text: although it is still uncertain which particular Paleo-Balkan language represents the ancestor of Albanian, or where in southern Europe that population lived. In general there is insufficient evidence to connect Albanian with one of those languages, whether one of the Illyrian languages or Thracian and Dacian. Among these possibilities, Illyrian is typically held to be the most probable, though insufficient evidence still clouds the discussion.


title: Albanian language

text: Although Albanian shares lexical isoglosses with Greek, Germanic, and to a lesser extent Balto-Slavic, the vocabulary of Albanian is quite distinct. In 1995, Taylor, Ringe and Warnow, using quantitative linguistic techniques, found that Albanian appears to comprise a "subgroup with Germanic". However, they argued that this fact is hardly significant, as Albanian has lost much of its original vocabulary and morphology, and so this "apparently close connection to Germanic rests on only a couple of lexical cognates – hardly any evidence at all".


title: Albanian language

text: The place and the time that the Albanian language was formed are uncertain. American linguist Eric Hamp stated that during an unknown chronological period a pre-Albanian population (termed as "Albanoid" by Hamp) inhabited areas stretching from Poland to the southwestern Balkans. Further analysis has suggested that it was in a mountainous region rather than on a plain or seacoast. The words for plants and animals characteristic of mountainous regions are entirely original, but the names for fish and for agricultural activities (such as ploughing) are borrowed from other languages.


title: Albanian language

text: A deeper analysis of the vocabulary, however, shows that could be a consequence of a prolonged Latin domination of the coastal and plain areas of the country, rather than evidence of the original environment in which the Albanian language was formed. For example, the word for 'fish' is borrowed from Latin, but not the word for 'gills' which is native. Indigenous are also the words for 'ship', 'raft', 'navigation', 'sea shelves' and a few names of fish kinds, but not the words for 'sail', 'row' and 'harbor'; objects pertaining to navigation itself and a large part of sea fauna. This rather shows that Proto-Albanians were pushed away from coastal areas in early times (probably after the Latin conquest of the region) and thus lost a large amount (or the majority) of their sea environment lexicon. A similar phenomenon could be observed with agricultural terms. While the words for 'arable land', 'corn', 'wheat', 'cereals', 'vineyard', 'yoke', 'harvesting', 'cattle breeding', etc. are native, the words for 'ploughing', 'farm' and 'farmer', agricultural practices, and some harvesting tools are foreign. This, again, points to intense contact with other languages and people, rather than providing evidence of a possible linguistic homeland (also known as a "Urheimat").


title: Albanian language

text: The centre of Albanian settlement remained the Mat River. In 1079, the Albanians were recorded farther south in the valley of the Shkumbin River. The Shkumbin, a seasonal stream that lies near the old Via Egnatia, is approximately the boundary of the primary dialect division for Albanian, Tosk and Gheg. The characteristics of Tosk and Gheg in the treatment of the native words and loanwords from other languages are evidence that the dialectal split preceded the Slavic migration to the Balkans, which means that in that period (the 5th to 6th centuries AD), Albanians were occupying nearly the same area around the Shkumbin river, which straddled the Jireček Line.


title: Albanian language

text: References to the existence of Albanian as a distinct language survive from the 14th century, but they failed to cite specific words. The oldest surviving documents written in Albanian are the "formula e pagëzimit" (Baptismal formula), "Un'te paghesont' pr'emenit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Spertit Senit". ("I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit") recorded by Pal Engjelli, Bishop of Durrës in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and some New Testament verses from that period.


title: Albanian language

text: The linguists Stefan Schumacher and Joachim Matzinger (University of Vienna) assert that the first literary records of Albanian date from the 16th century. The oldest known Albanian printed book, "Meshari", or "missal", was written in 1555 by Gjon Buzuku, a Roman Catholic cleric. In 1635, Frang Bardhi wrote the first Latin–Albanian dictionary. The first Albanian school is believed to have been opened by Franciscans in 1638 in Pdhanë.


title: Albanian language

text: One of the earliest Albanian dictionaries was written in 1693; it was the Italian manuscript "Pratichae Schrivaneschae" authored by the Montenegrin sea captain Julije Balović and includes a multilingual dictionary of hundreds of the most frequently used words in everyday life in Italian, Slavic, Greek, Albanian, and Turkish.


title: Albanian language

text: Pre-Indo-European (PreIE) sites are found throughout the territory of Albania. Such PreIE sites existed in Maliq, Vashtëm, Burimas, Barç, Dërsnik in the Korçë District, Kamnik in Kolonja, Kolsh in the Kukës District, Rashtan in Librazhd, and Nezir in the Mat District. As in other parts of Europe, these PreIE people joined the migratory Indo-European tribes that entered the Balkans and contributed to the formation of the historical Paleo-Balkan tribes. In terms of linguistics, the pre-Indo-European substrate language spoken in the southern Balkans probably influenced pre-Proto-Albanian, the ancestor idiom of Albanian. The extent of this linguistic impact cannot be determined with precision due to the uncertain position of Albanian among Paleo-Balkan languages and their scarce attestation. Some loanwords, however, have been proposed, such as "shegë" 'pomegranate' or "lëpjetë" 'orach'; compare Pre-Greek λάπαθον, "lápathon" 'monk's rhubarb').


title: Albanian language

text: Although Albanian has many words that do not correspond to IE cognates, it has retained many proto-IE features: for example, the demonstrative pronoun *"ḱi-" is ancestral to Albanian "ky/kjo", English "he", and Russian "sej" but not to English "this" or Russian "etot".


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian is compared to other Indo-European languages below, but note that Albanian has exhibited some notable instances of semantic drift, such as "motër" meaning "sister" rather than "mother".


title: Albanian language

text: Phonologically, Albanian is not so conservative. Like many IE stocks, it has merged the two series of voiced stops (e.g. both *"d" and *"dʰ" became "d"). In addition, voiced stops tend to disappear in between vowels. There is almost complete loss of final syllables and very widespread loss of other unstressed syllables (e.g. "mik" 'friend' from Lat. "amicus"). PIE *"o" appears as "a" (also as "e" if a high front vowel "i" follows), while *"ē" and *"ā" become "o", and PIE *"ō" appears as "e".


title: Albanian language

text: The palatals, velars, and labiovelars show distinct developments, with Albanian showing the three-way distinction also found in Luwian. Labiovelars are for the most part differentiated from all other Indo-European velar series before front vowels, but they merge with the "pure" (back) velars elsewhere. The palatal velar series, consisting of Proto-Indo-European *"ḱ" and the merged *"ģ" and "ģʰ", usually developed into "th" and "dh", but were depalatalised to merge with the back velars when in contact with sonorants. Because the original Proto-Indo-European tripartite distinction between dorsals is preserved in such reflexes, Albanian is therefore neither centum nor satem, despite having a "satem-like" realization of the palatal dorsals in most cases. Thus PIE *"ḱ", *"k", and *"kʷ" become "th", "q", and "s", respectively (before back vowels *"ḱ" becomes "th", while *"k" and *"kʷ" merge as "k").


title: Albanian language

text: A minority of scholars reconstruct a fourth laryngeal *"h" allegedly surfacing as Alb. "h" word-initially, e.g. Alb. "herdhe" 'testicles' presumably from PIE *"hórǵʰi-" (rather than the usual reconstruction *"herǵʰi-"), but this is generally not followed elsewhere, as "h-" has arisen elsewhere idiosyncratically (for example "hark" < Latin "arcus").


title: Albanian language

text: Since World War II, standard Albanian used in Albania has been based on the Tosk dialect. Kosovo and other areas where Albanian is official adopted the Tosk standard in 1969.


title: Albanian language

text: Until the early 20th century, Albanian writing developed in three main literary traditions: Gheg, Tosk, and Arbëreshë. Throughout this time, a Geg subdialect spoken around Elbasan served as "lingua franca" among the Albanians, but was less prevalent in writing. The Congress of Manastir of Albanian writers held in 1908 recommended the use of the Elbasan subdialect for literary purposes and as a basis of a unified national language. While technically classified as a southern Gheg variety, the Elbasan speech is closer to Tosk in phonology and practically a hybrid between other Gheg subdialects and literary Tosk.


title: Albanian language

text: Between 1916 and 1918, the Albanian Literary Commission met in Shkodër under the leadership of Luigj Gurakuqi with the purpose of establishing a unified orthography for the language. The commission, made up of representatives from the north and south of Albania, reaffirmed the Elbasan subdialect as the basis of a national tongue. The rules published in 1917 defined spelling for the Elbasan variety for official purposes. The Commission did not, however, discourage publications in one of the dialects, but rather laid a foundation for Gheg and Tosk to gradually converge into one.


title: Albanian language

text: When the Congress of Lushnje met in the aftermath of World War I to form a new Albanian government, the 1917 decisions of the Literary Commission were upheld. The Elbasan subdialect remained in use for administrative purposes and many new writers embraced it for creative writing. Gheg and Tosk continued to develop freely and interaction between the two dialects increased.


title: Albanian language

text: At the end of World War II, however, the new communist regime radically imposed the use of the Tosk dialect in all facets of life in Albania: administration, education, and literature. Most Communist leaders were Tosks from the south. Standardisation was directed by the Albanian Institute of Linguistics and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of Albania. Two dictionaries were published in 1954: an Albanian language dictionary and a Russian–Albanian dictionary. New orthography rules were eventually published in 1967 and in 1973 with the "Drejtshkrimi i gjuhës shqipe" (Orthography of the Albanian Language).


title: Albanian language

text: Until 1968, Kosovo and other Albanian-speaking areas in Yugoslavia followed the 1917 standard based on the Elbasan dialect, though it was gradually infused with Gheg elements in an effort to develop a Kosovan language separate from communist Albania's Tosk-based standard. Albanian intellectuals in the former Yugoslavia consolidated the 1917 standard twice in the 1950s, culminating with a thorough codification of orthographic rules in 1964. The rules already provided for a balanced variety that accounted for both Gheg and Tosk dialects, but only lasted through 1968. Viewing divergences with Albania as a threat to their identity, Kosovars arbitrarily adopted the Tosk project that Tirana had published the year before. Although it was never intended to serve outside of Albania, the project became the "unified literary language" in 1972, when approved by a rubberstamp Orthography Congress. Only about 1 in 9 participants were from Kosovo. The Congress, held at Tirana, authorized the orthography rules that came out the following year, in 1973.


title: Albanian language

text: More recent dictionaries from the Albanian government are "Fjalori Drejtshkrimor i Gjuhës Shqipe" (1976) (Orthographic Dictionary of the Albanian Language) and "Dictionary of Today's Albanian language" ("Fjalori Gjuhës së Sotme Shqipe") (1980). Prior to World War II, dictionaries consulted by developers of the standard have included "Lexikon tis Alvanikis glossis" (Albanian: "Fjalori i Gjuhës Shqipe" (Kostandin Kristoforidhi, 1904), "Fjalori i Bashkimit" (1908), and "Fjalori i Gazullit" (1941).


title: Albanian language

text: Since the fall of the communist regime, Albanian orthography has stirred heated debate among scholars, writers, and public opinion in Albania and Kosovo, with hardliners opposed to any changes in the orthography, moderates supporting varying degrees of reform, and radicals calling for a return to the Elbasan dialect. Criticism of Standard Albanian has centred on the exclusion of the 'me+' infinitive and the Gheg lexicon. Critics say that Standard Albanian disenfranchises and stigmatises Gheg speakers, affecting the quality of writing and impairing effective public communication. Supporters of the Tosk standard view the 1972 Congress as a milestone achievement in Albanian history and dismiss calls for reform as efforts to "divide the nation" or "create two languages." Moderates, who are especially prevalent in Kosovo, generally stress the need for a unified Albanian language, but believe that the 'me+' infinitive and Gheg words should be included. Proponents of the Elbasan dialect have been vocal, but have gathered little support in the public opinion. In general, those involved in the language debate come from diverse backgrounds and there is no significant correlation between one's political views, geographic origin, and position on Standard Albanian.


title: Albanian language

text: Many writers continue to write in the Elbasan dialect but other Gheg variants have found much more limited use in literature. Most publications adhere to a strict policy of not accepting submissions that are not written in Tosk. Some print media even translate direct speech, replacing the 'me+' infinitive with other verb forms and making other changes in grammar and word choice. Even authors who have published in the Elbasan dialect will frequently write in the Tosk standard.


title: Albanian language

text: In 2013, a group of academics for Albania and Kosovo proposed minor changes to the orthography. Hardline academics boycotted the initiative, while other reformers have viewed it as well-intentioned but flawed and superficial. Media such as Rrokum and "Java" have offered content that is almost exclusively in the Elbasan dialect. Meanwhile, author and linguist Agim Morina has promoted "Shqipe e Përbashkët" or Common Albanian, a neostandard or a reformed version of the Tosk standard that aims at reflecting the natural development of the language among all Albanians. Common Albanian incorporates the 'me+' infinitive, accommodates for Gheg features, provides for dialect-neutral rules that favor simplicity, predictability, and usage trends. Many modern writers have embraced Common Albanian to various extents, especially in less formal writing.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian is the medium of instruction in most Albanian schools. The literacy rate in Albania for the total population, age 9 or older, is about 99%. Elementary education is compulsory (grades 1–9), but most students continue at least until a secondary education. Students must pass graduation exams at the end of the 9th grade and at the end of the 12th grade in order to continue their education.


title: Albanian language

text: Standard Albanian has seven vowels and 29 consonants. Like English, Albanian has dental fricatives (like the "th" in "thin") and (like the "th" in "this"), written as and "," which are rare cross-linguistically.


title: Albanian language

text: Gheg uses long and nasal vowels, which are absent in Tosk, and the mid-central vowel "ë" is lost at the end of the word. The stress is fixed mainly on the last syllable. Gheg "n" ("femën": compare English "feminine") changes to "r" by rhotacism in Tosk ("femër").


title: Albanian language

text: The schwa in Albanian has a great degree of variability from extreme back to extreme front articulation. Although the Indo-European schwa ("ə" or -"h"-) was preserved in Albanian, in some cases it was lost, possibly when a stressed syllable preceded it. Until the standardisation of the modern Albanian alphabet, in which the schwa is spelled as "ë", as in the work of Gjon Buzuku in the 16th century, various vowels and gliding vowels were employed, including "ae" by Lekë Matrënga and "é" by Pjetër Bogdani in the late 16th and early 17th century. Within the borders of Albania, the phoneme is pronounced about the same in both the Tosk and the Gheg dialect due to the influence of standard Albanian. However, in the Gheg dialects spoken in the neighbouring Albanian-speaking areas of Kosovo and North Macedonia, the phoneme is still pronounced as back and rounded.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian has a canonical word order of SVO (subject–verb–object) like English and many other Indo-European languages. Albanian nouns are categorised by gender (masculine, feminine and neuter) and inflected for number (singular and plural) and case. There are five declensions and six cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative), although the vocative only occurs with a limited number of words (such as 'bir' ("son"), vocative case: biro, zog ("bird") vocative case: zogo), and the forms of the genitive and dative are identical (a genitive construction employs the prepositions "i/e/të/së" alongside dative morphemes). Some dialects also retain a locative case, which is not present in standard Albanian (e.g. "në malt" loc.sg.def). The cases apply to both definite and indefinite nouns, and there are numerous cases of syncretism.


title: Albanian language

text: The following shows the declension of "mal" (mountain), a masculine noun which takes "i" in the definite singular:


title: Albanian language

text: The following shows the declension of the masculine noun "zog" (bird), a masculine noun which takes "u" in the definite singular:


title: Albanian language

text: The definite article is placed after the noun as in many other Balkan languages, like in Romanian, Macedonian and Bulgarian.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian has developed an analytical verbal structure in place of the earlier synthetic system, inherited from Proto-Indo-European. Its complex system of moods (six types) and tenses (three simple and five complex constructions) is distinctive among Balkan languages. There are two general types of conjugations.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian verbs, like those of other Balkan languages, have an "admirative" mood ("mënyra habitore") that is used to indicate surprise on the part of the speaker or to imply that an event is known to the speaker by report and not by direct observation. In some contexts, this mood can be translated using English "apparently".


title: Albanian language

text: For more information on verb conjugation and on inflection of other parts of speech, see Albanian morphology.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian word order is relatively free. To say 'Agim ate all the oranges' in Albanian, one may use any of the following orders, with slight pragmatic differences:


title: Albanian language

text: The verb can optionally occur in sentence-initial position, especially with verbs in the non-active form ("forma joveprore"):


title: Albanian language

text: Verbal negation in Albanian is mood-dependent, a trait shared with some fellow Indo-European languages such as Greek.


title: Albanian language

text: In indicative, conditional, or admirative sentences, negation is expressed by the particles "nuk" or "s"' in front of the verb, for example:


title: Albanian language

text: Beside the Indo-European decimal numeration, there are also remnants of the vigesimal system, as and . The Arbëreshë in Italy and Arvanites in Greece may still use and . However the system has been lost in the standard language (excluding the dialects) due to the long-lasting Latin influence in Antiquity and in the Middle Ages. Albanian is the only Balkan language that has preserved the Pre-Indo-European vigesimal system.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian scripts were produced earlier than the first attested document, "formula e pagëzimit", but none yet have been discovered. We know of their existence by earlier references. For example, a French monk signed as "Broccardus" notes, in 1332, that "Although the Albanians have another language totally different from Latin, "they still use Latin letters in all their books"".


title: Albanian language

text: In 1967 two scholars claimed to have found a Letter text in Albanian inserted into the Bellifortis text, a book written in Latin dating to 1402–1405.


title: Albanian language

text: Dr. Robert Elsie, a specialist in Albanian studies, considers that "The Todericiu/Polena Romanian translation of the non-Latin lines, although it may offer some clues if the text is indeed Albanian, is fanciful and based, among other things, on a false reading of the manuscript, including the exclusion of a whole line."


title: Albanian language

text: In 1635, Frang Bardhi (1606–1643) published in Rome his "Dictionarum latinum-epiroticum", the first known Latin-Albanian dictionary. Other scholars who studied the language during the 17th century include Andrea Bogdani (1600–1685), author of the first Latin-Albanian grammar book, Nilo Katalanos (1637–1694) and others.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian is known within historical linguistics as a case of a language which, although surviving through many periods of foreign rule and multilingualism, saw a "disproportionately high" influx of loans from other languages augmenting and replacing much of its original vocabulary. Of all the foreign influences in Albanian, the deepest reaching and most impactful was the absorption of loans from Latin in the Classical period and its Romance successors afterward, with over 60% of Albanian vocabulary consisting of Latin roots, causing Albanian to once have been mistakenly identified as a Romance language.


title: Albanian language

text: Major work in reconstructing Proto-Albanian has been done with the help of knowledge of the original forms of loans from Ancient Greek, Latin and Slavic, while Ancient Greek loanwords are scarce the Latin loanwords are of extreme importance in phonology. The presence of loanwords from more well-studied languages from time periods before Albanian was attested, reaching deep back into the Classical Era, has been of great use in phonological reconstructions for earlier ancient and medieval forms of Albanian. Some words in the core vocabulary of Albanian have no known etymology linking them to Proto-Indo-European or any known source language, and as of 2018 are thus tentatively attributed to an unknown, unattested, pre-Indo-European substrate language; some words among these include (heart) and (iron). Some among these putative pre-IE words are thought to be related to putative pre-IE substrate words in neighboring Indo-European languages, such as (flower), which has been tentatively linked to Latin and Greek .


title: Albanian language

text: Lexical distance of Albanian to other languages in a lexicostatistical analysis by Ukrainian linguist Tyshchenko shows the following results (the lower figure, the higher similarity): 49% Slovenian, 53% Romanian, 56% Greek, 82% French, 86% Macedonian, 86% Bulgarian.


title: Albanian language

text: The earliest loanwords attested in Albanian come from Doric Greek, whereas the strongest influence came from Latin. Some scholars argue that Albanian originated from an area located east of its present geographic spread due to the several common lexical items found between the Albanian and Romanian languages. However it does not necessarily define the genealogical history of Albanian language, and it does not exclude the possibility of Proto-Albanian presence in both Illyrian and Thracian territory.


title: Albanian language

text: The period during which Proto-Albanian and Latin interacted was protracted, lasting from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. Over this period, the lexical borrowings can be roughly divided into three layers, the second of which is the largest. The first and smallest occurred at the time of less significant interaction. The final period, probably preceding the Slavic or Germanic invasions, also has a notably smaller number of borrowings. Each layer is characterised by a different treatment of most vowels: the first layer follows the evolution of Early Proto-Albanian into Albanian; while later layers reflect vowel changes endemic to Late Latin (and presumably Proto-Romance). Other formative changes include the syncretism of several noun case endings, especially in the plural, as well as a large-scale palatalisation.


title: Albanian language

text: A brief period followed, between the 7th and the 9th centuries, that was marked by heavy borrowings from South Slavic, some of which predate the "o-a" shift common to the modern forms of this language group. Starting in the latter 9th century, there was a period characterised by protracted contact with the Proto-Romanians (or "Vlachs"), though lexical borrowing seems to have been mostly one sided: from Albanian into Romanian. Such borrowing indicates that the Romanians migrated from an area where the majority was Slavic (i.e. Middle Bulgarian) to an area with a majority of Albanian speakers (i.e. Dardania, where Vlachs are recorded in the 10th century). Their movement is presumably related to the expansion of the Bulgarian Empire into Albania around that time.


title: Albanian language

text: There are some 30 Ancient Greek loanwords in Proto-Albanian. Many of these reflect a dialect which voiced its aspirants, as did the Macedonian dialect. Other loanwords are Doric; these words mainly refer to commodity items and trade goods and probably came through trade with a now-extinct intermediary.


title: Albanian language

text: According to Huld (1986), the following come from a Greek dialect without any significant attestation called "Makedonian" because it was akin to the native idiom of the Greek-speaking population in the Argead kingdom:


title: Albanian language

text: In total Latin roots comprise over 60% of the Albanian lexicon. They include many frequently used core vocabulary items, including ' ("very", from Latin '), ' ("few", Latin '), ' ("narrow", Latin '), ' ("tree", Latin '), ' ("to come", Latin '), ' ("sand", Latin '), ' ("straight", Latin '), ' ("beast", Latin ', meaning "thing"), and ' ("far away", Latin ').


title: Albanian language

text: Jernej Kopitar (1780–1844) was the first to note Latin's influence on Albanian and claimed "the Latin loanwords in the Albanian language had the pronunciation of the time of Emperor Augustus". Kopitar gave examples such as Albanian ' 'chickpea' from Latin ', ' 'city, town' from ', ' 'fish' from ', and ' 'arrow' from '. The hard pronunciations of Latin and are retained as palatal and velar stops in the Albanian loanwords. Gustav Meyer (1888) and Wilhelm Meyer-Lübke (1914) later corroborated this. Meyer noted the similarity between the Albanian verbs ' "to speak clearly, enunciate" and ' "to pronounce, articulate" and the Latin word ' (meaning "to welcome"). Therefore, he believed that the word "Shqiptar" "Albanian person" was derived from ', which in turn was derived from the Latin word "". Johann Georg von Hahn, an Austrian linguist, had proposed the same hypothesis in 1854.


title: Albanian language

text: Other authors have detected Latin loanwords in Albanian with an ancient sound pattern from the 1st century BC, for example, Albanian ' 'saddle girth; dwarf elder' from Latin ' and Albanian ' 'old, aged; former' from ' but influenced by Latin '. The Romance languages inherited these words from Vulgar Latin: ' became Romanian ' 'girdle; saddle girth', and Vulgar Latin "veterānus" became Romanian ' 'old'.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian, Basque, and the surviving Celtic languages such as Breton and Welsh are the non-Romance languages today that have this sort of extensive Latin element dating from ancient Roman times, which has undergone the sound changes associated with the languages. Other languages in or near the former Roman area either came on the scene later (Turkish, the Slavic languages, Arabic) or borrowed little from Latin despite coexisting with it (Greek, German), although German does have a few such ancient Latin loanwords (' 'window', ' 'cheese').


title: Albanian language

text: Romanian scholars such as Vatasescu and Mihaescu, using lexical analysis of the Albanian language, have concluded that Albanian was heavily influenced by an extinct Romance language that was distinct from both Romanian and Dalmatian. Because the Latin words common to only Romanian and Albanian are significantly fewer in number than those that are common to only Albanian and Western Romance, Mihaescu argues that the Albanian language evolved in a region with much greater contact with Western Romance regions than with Romanian-speaking regions, and located this region in present-day Albania, Kosovo and Western Macedonia, spanning east to Bitola and Pristina.


title: Albanian language

text: After the Slavs arrived in the Balkans, the Slavic languages became an additional source of loanwords. The rise of the Ottoman Empire meant an influx of Turkish words; this also entailed the borrowing of Persian and Arabic words through Turkish. Some Turkish personal names, such as "Altin", are common. There are some loanwords from Modern Greek, especially in the south of Albania. Many borrowed words have been replaced by words with Albanian roots or modern Latinised (international) words.


title: Albanian language

text: Albanian is also known to possess a small set of loans from Gothic, with early inquiry into the matter done by Norbert Jokl and Sigmund Feist, though such loans had been claimed earlier in the 19th century by early linguists such as Gustav Meyer. Many words claimed as Gothic have now been attributed to other origins by later linguists of Albanian ("fat" and "tufë", though used for major claims by Huld in 1994, are now attributed to Latin, for example), or may instead be native to Albanian, inherited from Proto-Indo-European. Today, it is accepted that there are a few words from Gothic in Albanian, but for the most part they are scanty because the Goths had few contacts with Balkan peoples.


title: Albanian language

text: Martin Huld defends the significance of the admittedly sparse Gothic loans for Albanian studies, however, arguing that Gothic is the only clearly post-Roman and "pre-Ottoman" language after Latin with a notable influence on the Albanian lexicon (the influence of Slavic languages is both pre-Ottoman and Ottoman). He argues that Gothic words in Albanian are attributable to the late fourth and early fifth centuries during the invasions of various Gothic speaking groups of the Balkans under Alaric, Odoacer, and Theodoric. He argues that Albanian Gothicisms bear evidence for the ordering of developments within Proto-Albanian at this time: for example, he argues Proto-Albanian at this stage had already shifted /uː/ to [y] as Gothic words with /uː/ reflect with /u/ in Albanian, not /y/ as seen in most Latin and ancient Greek loans, but had not yet experienced the shift of /t͡s/ to /θ/, since loans from Gothic words with /θ/ replace /θ/ with /t/ or another close sound.


title: Albanian language

text: Notable words that continue to be attributed to Gothic in Albanian by multiple modern sources include:


title: Albanian language

text: Although Albanian is characterised by the absorption of many loans, even, in the case of Latin, reaching deep into the core vocabulary, certain semantic fields nevertheless remained more resistant. Terms pertaining to social organisation are often preserved, though not those pertaining to political organisation, while those pertaining to trade are all loaned or innovated.


title: Albanian language

text: Hydronyms present a complicated picture; the term for "sea" ("det") is native and an "Albano-Germanic" innovation referring to the concept of depth, but a large amount of maritime vocabulary is loaned. Words referring to large streams and their banks tend to be loans, but "lumë" ("river") is native, as is "rrymë" (the flow of water). Words for smaller streams and stagnant pools of water are more often native, but the word for "pond", "pellg" is in fact a semantically shifted descendant of the old Greek word for "high sea", suggesting a change in location after Greek contact. Albanian has maintained since Proto-Indo-European a specific term referring to a riverside forest ("gjazë"), as well as its words for marshes. Curiously, Albanian has maintained native terms for "whirlpool", "water pit" and (aquatic) "deep place", leading Orel to speculate that the Albanian Urheimat likely had an excess of dangerous whirlpools and depths.


title: Albanian language

text: Regarding forests, words for most conifers and shrubs are native, as are the terms for "alder", "elm", "oak", "beech", and "linden", while "ash", "chestnut", "birch", "maple", "poplar", and "willow" are loans.


title: Albanian language

text: The original kinship terminology of Indo-European was radically reshaped; changes included a shift from "mother" to "sister", and were so thorough that only three terms retained their original function, the words for "son-in-law", "mother-in-law" and "father-in-law". All the words for second-degree blood kinship, including "aunt", "uncle", "nephew", "niece", and terms for grandchildren, are ancient loans from Latin.


title: Albanian language

text: The Proto-Albanians appear to have been cattle breeders given the vastness of preserved native vocabulary pertaining to cow breeding, milking and so forth, while words pertaining to dogs tend to be loaned. Many words concerning horses are preserved, but the word for horse itself is a Latin loan.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record 15 solo hero successful films between 1969 and 1971. He was the highest-paid actor in Hindi cinema throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His accolades include four BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards, and in 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna made his debut in 1966 with "Aakhri Khat" which was India's first official Oscar Entry in 1967. In 2005, he was honoured with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award on the 50th anniversary of the Filmfare Awards. He was a Member of Parliament in the 10th Lok Sabha from New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency between 1992 and 1996, elected in the 1992 New Delhi by-election as an Indian National Congress candidate. He was married to Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, eight months before her debut film "Bobby" was released and had two daughters from the marriage. Their elder daughter Twinkle Khanna is an actress who is married to actor Akshay Kumar, while they also have a younger daughter Rinke Khanna.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna died on 18 July 2012, after a period of illness. He has been honoured with a stamp and statue in his likeness, and a road renamed after him by the Prime Minister of India. In 2014, his biography "" by Yasser Usman was published by Penguin Books. In 2022, his biography "Rajesh Khanna The Most Versatile Superstar Actor of Hindi Cinema" written by Narayanan Subramanian was released. In 2018, a one kilometre fitness trail in Lajpat Nagar National Park was named after Khanna, which was inaugurated by his wife Dimple Kapadia.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Rajesh Khanna was born on 29 December 1942, in Amritsar in the present-day state of Punjab, in a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family as Jatin Khanna. He was adopted and raised by Chunnilal Khanna and Leelawati Khanna, who were relatives of his biological parents. His father had migrated from West Punjab to Gali Tiwarian in Amritsar. His biological parents were Lala Hiranand Khanna and Chandrani Khanna. Lala worked as headmaster of the MC High School in Burewala (in present-day Vehari District, Punjab, Pakistan). His adoptive parents belonged to a family of railway contractors who had moved from Lahore to Bombay in 1935. Khanna lived in Saraswati Niwas, in Thakur-dwar near Girgaon, Mumbai.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: He attended St. Sebastian's Goan High School with his friend Ravi Kapoor, who later took the stage name Jeetendra. Khanna gradually started taking interest in theatre, did many of stage and theatre plays in his school and college days, and won many prizes in inter-college drama competitions.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: In 1962 Khanna played a wounded mute soldier in the play "Andha Yug" and impressed with his performance; the chief guest suggested that he get into films soon. Khanna became a rare newcomer who had his own MG sports car, who once struggled to get work in theatre and films in the early 1960s.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna did his first two years of Bachelor of Arts in Nowrosjee Wadia College in Pune from 1959 to 1961. Khanna later studied in K. C. College, Mumbai and Jeetendra studied from Siddharth Jain College. Khanna tutored Jeetendra for his first film audition. Khanna's uncle KK Talwar changed Khanna's first name to Rajesh when he decided to enter films. His friends and his wife called him "Kaka" (meaning a baby faced boy in Punjabi).


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Rajesh Khanna was one of eight finalists from more than 10,000 contestants in the 1965 All India Talent Contest, organised by United Producers and Filmfare, along with other FTII students Subhash Ghai and Dheeraj Kumar.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: He made his film debut in the 1966 film "Aakhri Khat", directed by Chetan Anand, followed by "Raaz", directed by Ravindra Dave, both of which were a part of his predetermined prize for winning the All-India United Producers' Talent Competition. G.P. Sippy and Nasir Hussain were the first to sign Rajesh Khanna after he won the contest.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Being under contract with United Producers, he got projects such as "Aurat", "Doli" and "Ittefaq". He was then noticed for his performances in films such as "Baharon Ke Sapne", "Aurat" (1967), "Doli", "Aradhana" and "Ittefaq". In "Bahraon Ke Sapne", the response from the public in the first week of run forced the film's ending to be changed from a tragic one to a happier one from the second week. Later, Waheeda Rehman suggested to Asit Sen to take Khanna for the lead role in "Khamoshi". Through "Aradhana" he rose to "instant national fame" and the media referred to him as the "First Superstar of India" owing to the crazy following he got and the big crowds he could pull. However, Public Relations Officer (PRO) Tarak Nath Gandhi later confessed in a 1989 BBC interview about how they established the "Superstar" title with Rajesh Khanna, citing, "in press releases, we always wrote "Superstar" before Rajesh Khanna - "Superstar Rajesh Khanna". But the journalists used to complain and question this. So, we flattered the journalists by explaining them, talking to them nicely, by taking them out to dinner and giving them presents. In this way, we established the title "Superstar". If you keep repeating something innumerous times, it sticks." Rajesh Khanna was cast in a double role (father and son) opposite Sharmila Tagore and Farida Jalal. It also saw the resurgence of Kishore Kumar, who eventually became the official playback voice of Rajesh Khanna. They worked together until Kishore's death in 1987 and songs of their combination were released until 1991.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: In 1971, he acted in "Haathi Mere Saathi", which became that year's highest-grossing film and the biggest grosser ever till then. Khanna is credited with giving Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first chance to become screenplay writers by offering them work in "Haathi Mere Saathi". Javed Akhthar accepted and said in an interview: "One day, he went to Salimsaab and said that Mr. Devar had given him a huge signing amount with which he could complete the payment for his bungalow Aashirwad. But the film's script was far from being satisfactory. He told us that if we could set right the script, he would make sure we got both money and credit." Rajesh bought Rajendra Kumar's bungalow named Dimple in Carter Road Promenade for 31 lakhs in 1970 and renamed it Ashirwaad.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Rajesh Khanna had 15 consecutive solo hit films between 1969 and 1971. These were "Aradhana", "Doli", "Bandhan", "Ittefaq", "Do Raaste", "Khamoshi", "Safar", "The Train", "Kati Patang", "Sachaa Jhutha", "Aan Milo Sajna", "Mehboob Ki Mehendi", "Choti Bahu", "Anand" and "Haathi Mere Saathi". He had 17 consecutive hit films as the lead hero from 1969 to 1971 which included 15 solo hero films and 2 non-solo hero films; "Andaz" and "Maryada".


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: "Badnam Farishte" in 1971 was unsuccessful at the box office. In 1972, Khanna acted in 11 releases including the Telugu film "Bangaru Babu". That year, his films, "Amar Prem", "Apna Desh" and "Mere Jeevan Saathi" earned more than Rs.5 crore together. His other films of 1972 such as "Dil Daulat Duniya", "Bawarchi", "Joroo Ka Ghulam" and "Shehzada" earned more than Rs.4.5 crores. His next release "Anuraag" was a hit. The film "Maalik" released in end of 1972 was unsuccessful. He made a guest appearance in a Telugu movie called "Bangaru Babu", directed by V.B. Rajendra Prasad in 1973, which was a hit at the box office.In 1972, he had 9 consecutive hit films.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: As per the review of "Raja Rani" written in 2014 by "The Hindu" newspaper, the film did well at the box office and, taking into consideration the inflation as of 2014, the film would have grossed more than 100 crores. The attire worn by Khanna was a sleeveless shirt and trousers, thick leather belt, shoes without socks and a black cap."The Hindu" review noted "On a lesser actor, the attire would have fallen flat, but Khanna, as a small time thief, carries it with characteristic élan."


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Rajesh acted alongside Mumtaz in eight films. They were neighbours and got along very well, which translated onto the screen. Mumtaz stated "I would pull his leg and tease him about his fan following. Whenever Rajesh entered a hotel in Madras, there was a queue of 600 girls waiting to see him at midnight. As a result, even I would get some importance, as people would ask for my autograph as well. He was very generous with his associates, and would party a lot."


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: During the peak of his career he would be mobbed during public appearances. Fans kissed his car, which would be covered with lipstick marks, and lined the road, cheering and chanting his name. Female fans sent him letters written in their blood. There used to be a line of cars of his producers and hysterical fans outside his bungalow every day. Actor Mehmood parodied him in "Bombay to Goa" where the driver and conductor of the bus were called 'Rajesh' and 'Khanna' respectively. Even today, he remains the favourite of mimicry artists, who copy his trademark style and dialogue delivery.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: During the filming of "Amar Prem" there was a scene that needed to be shot at Howrah Bridge with a boat carrying Khanna and Sharmila under the bridge. The authorities ruled this scene out as they realised that if the public found out that the star would be there, it may create problems on the bridge and that it might collapse due to the number of people trying to get a glimpse of their favourite actor. Film critic Monojit Lahiri remembers "Girls married themselves to photographs of Rajesh Khanna, cutting their fingers and applying the blood as sindoor. Rajesh was God, there has never been such hysteria."


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: In the year 1974, the Filmfare Awards were held honouring the films released in the year 1973. Khanna was nominated for his performance in a complicated role in "Daag". However, Rishi Kapoor received the Best Actor award for his jolly, schoolboyish debut role in "Bobby", Khanna did not win the award for his performance in "Daag".


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Several songs sung by Kishore Kumar in the 1970s were based on Rajesh Khanna. During the filming of the song "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani" in Aradhana, Sharmila Tagore was shooting for a Satyajit Ray film and director Shakti Samanta had to shoot their scenes separately and then join the scenes together. In the 1970s, his chemistry with Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Asha Parekh, Zeenat Aman, Tanuja and Hema Malini were also popular with audiences.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: In 1973, BBC also made a documentary on him named as "Bombay Superstar" as a part of their "Man Alive" series. Shooting began when he got married and his film "Daag" premiered. In the video it can be noticed that Khanna was shooting for "Aap Ki Kasam". A textbook prescribed by the Mumbai University contained an essay, "The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna!"


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Sharmila Tagore said in an interview to "The Indian Express" that "women came out in droves to see "Kaka". They would stand in queues outside the studios to catch a glimpse, they would marry his photographs, they would pull at his clothes. Delhi girls were crazier for him than Mumbai girls. He needed police protection when he was in public. I have never seen anything like this before or since."


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Music remained one of the biggest attractions of all Rajesh Khanna films throughout his career. His films were always known for the music with chartbuster soundtracks. The reason for this was that Khanna used to personally sit in music sessions with music directors such as Kalyanji Anandji, R. D. Burman, Shankar Jaikishen, Lakshmikant Pyarelal, S.D. Burman, Bappie Lahiri and select tunes for duets and solo songs in his films. He used to be personally present for recording of the solo songs to be picturised on him.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Many of the musical scores for Khanna's films were composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, Sachin Dev Burman and R. D. Burman. The trio of Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman went on to make a number of popular films, including "Kati Patang", "Amar Prem", "Shehzada", "Apna Desh", "Mere Jeevan Saathi", "Aap Ki Kasam", "Ajnabee", "Namak Haraam", "Maha Chor", "Karm", "Phir Wohi Raat", "Aanchal", "Kudrat", "Ashanti", "Agar Tum Na Hote", "Awaaz", "Hum Dono" and "Alag Alag".


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna considered Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari and Geeta Bali to be his idols. Khanna said in an interview: "My inspirations include Dilip Kumar's dedication and intensity, Raj Kapoor's spontaneity, Dev Anand's style and Shammi Kapoor's rhythm."


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Between 1976 and 1978, Khanna acted in seven films that were not commercially successful. These films included "Mehbooba", "Bundal Baaz", "Tyaag", "Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein", "Naukri", "Chakravyuha" and "Janta Hawaldar", which were directed by Shakti Samanta, Shammi Kapoor, Din Dayal Sharma, Meraj, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee and Mehmood Ali, respectively. Khanna persuaded Samanta to cast his sister-in-law Simple Kapadia opposite him in "Anurodh". Films starring Rajesh Khanna and directed by Shakti Samanta tended to be commercially successful, but "Mehbooba" was an exception. The change from romantic and social movies to action oriented multi-starrers caused some decline of Khanna's career in terms of box office ratings. The declaration of emergency in India had angered the masses and this helped films having the lead character revolting against corruption [and establishment] to become successes. Actor Joy Mukherjee made "Chhailla Babu", a suspense thriller in 1977, which became the only successful film of his as a director, and the unexpected success of "Chhailla Babu" gave a boost to the career of Khanna. However, Khanna continued basically in solo-hero socially sober household meaningful films during this era and played a variety of characters in films of various genres. During this phase too he had box office hits like "Maha Chor", "Anurodh", "Bhola Bhala", "Tinku" and "Karm".


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna was the first choice of director Raj Kapoor for the lead role in Satyam Shivam Sundaram, but some members from the Raj Kapoor camp opposed his presence. Many other reasons are stated but the role eventually went to Shashi Kapoor.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: After 1978, Khanna starred in films like such as "Amar Deep", "Phir Wohi Raat", "Bandish", "Thodisi Bewafaii", "Dard", "Kudrat", "Dhanwan", "Ashanti (1982 film)", "Avtaar", "Agar Tum Na Hote", "Souten", "Jaanwar", "Asha Jyoti", "Awaaz", "Naya Kadam", "Hum Dono", "Babu", "Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar", "Shatru", "Insaaf Main Karoonga", "Anokha Rishta", "Nazrana", "Angaarey", "Adhikar", "Amrit", "Awam" and "Rupaye Dus Karod". Director Bharathiraja decided to remake his 1978 Tamil box office hit film "Sigappu Rojakkal" in Hindi with Khanna playing a psychopath. Kamal Haasan who played the same role in Tamil won South Filmfare Best Actor Award for his portrayal. But the Hindi film "Red Rose" (1980) was seen as controversial by traditional and orthodox Hindi moviegoers and was not a commercial success.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Tina Munim and Rajesh Khanna became an on and off screen couple of the eighties with movies such as "Fiffty Fiffty", "Souten", "Suraag", "Aakhir Kyon?", "Bewafai", "Insaaf Main Karoonga", "Alag Alag" and "Adhikar". Ram Awatar Agnihotri wrote that Tina Munim showed the first sparks of the dedicated actress she would become in the films "Alag Alag" and "Adhikar", both with Khanna. His on-screen pairings with Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon were also popular in the eighties. He also acted in the Marathi hit film "Sundara Satarkar" in 1981.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Kamal Haasan was a close friend of Khanna. Khanna starred in Hindi remakes of 3 Tamil films originally starring Kamal, and Kamal acted in 2 remakes of Khanna's films. Kamal quoted in an interview, to narrate how he experienced Khanna's stardom in an incident in 1985 – "He probably hadn't been to a public theatre since he became a star. When we reached, things were okay. He enjoyed the mediocre film ("The Swarm") thoroughly and refused to leave until the end titles. That's when I panicked. This was Rajesh Khanna, the star of the millennium. If audiences got to know he was present there would be a stampede and blood on my hands. But Mr Khanna refused to listen. He stayed on till the end. The inevitable happened after the show. All hell broke loose as audiences realised he was there. I became Rajesh Khanna's bodyguard and security officer as I took him through the crowd. His shirt was torn, but he was enjoying himself thoroughly. He giggled and chuckled like a child."


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna performed in successful multi-star films including "Rajput", "Dharm Aur Qanoon", "Paapi Pet Ka Sawaal Hai", "Zamana", "Dil-E-Nadaan" and "Ghar Ka Chiraag". He did three movies with Jeetendra: "Dharam Kanta", "Nishaan" and "Maqsad". In 1984, "Maqsad" was the second-highest ranked film in terms of box office results, earning gross 8.5 crores. In "Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar", Khanna played the character of a corrupt politician. Viewers praised his role in the film. In 1985 he produced "Alag Alag". According to "The Guardian" (UK), he had 11 releases as solo lead hero in the year 1985 and eight of them were hits. In 1985, the film "Bewafai", with Khanna as the lead hero and Rajinikanth in a negative role, released and became a success and grossed Rs 11.95 crore at the box office that year. Before joining politics, one of his last films as the lead hero was "Swarg", released in 1990. David Dhawan regards "Swarg" as his favourite directorial venture. In the year 1991, he starred in films – "Ghar Parivaar", "Rupaye Dus Karod" and "Begunaah" as the lead hero.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: He worked in films of different genres: tragedy in "Babu" as a rickshaw puller, thriller in "Red Rose" as a psychopath, political adventure in "Awam", fantasy in "Bundalbaaz" and "Jaanwar", crime in "Phir Wohi Raat" and "Angarey", suspense in "Chakravyuha" and "Ittefaq", comedy in "Joru Ka Ghulam", "Bawarchi", "Hum Dono" and "Masterji", action in "Ashanti" and "Zamana", and family dramas addressing different issues in "Aanchal", "Amrit" and "Agar Tum Na Hote" and films addressing issues of social concerns; "Avtaar", "Naya Kadam" and "Akhir Kyun". He did films of different themes such as reincarnation in "Kudrat", spiritualism in "Maalik" and immaturity while falling in love in "Anokha Rishta", "Nazrana" and "Dil E Nadan". He played a variety of characters as the lead hero: a postman in "Palkon Ki Chaon Mein", a lawyer who proves that his senior has committed a rape 25 years earlier in "Kudrat", a politician in "Aaj Ka MLA Ram Avtaar", a young musician forced by fate to marry two women in "Asha Jyoti", a professional advocate in "Awaaz", a fisherman in "Prem Bandhan", a patriot in "Prem Kahani", a righteous farmer in "Bandhan" and a Muslim who falls in love with a prostitute's daughter in "Mehboob Ki Mehendi".


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: The main difference between him and his predecessors, successors, contemporaries was that Khanna's films ran successfully in whole of India and not just Hindi speaking areas and he did films of every genre simultaneously and has more critically acclaimed films to his credit than all other Hindi Actors of every generation.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: He shared close relationships with R. D. Burman and Kishore Kumar. The trio were friends and have worked together in thirty-two films. Kishore Kumar had even credited Rajesh Khanna for his resurgence, so much so that he sang for "Alag Alag", the first film produced by Rajesh Khanna without charging anything. In 1985 Pancham found himself being sidelined after failures of a few films, but Rajesh Khanna was among the few who continued to stand by him. Rajesh and Pancham worked together even after the death of Kishore in the films "Jai Shiv Shankar", the unreleased film "Police Ke Peechhe Police" (both produced by Khanna) and "Sautela Bhai". Khanna even helped Leena Gangully and Amit Kumar in completing "Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein", the last film directed by Kishore, who died before the completion of the film. R.D. Burman had quoted in an interview – "I have always reserved the best music tunes for Kaka and I dont feel guilty about it, as he deserves it. Although Amitabh Bachchan was a fine actor, it will be Kaka who would be remembered forever and stay immortal".


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Pyarelal of the Laxmikant–Pyarelal duo quoted in an interview that "Rajesh Khanna was lucky for us and we were lucky for him too. From the 1969 film "Do Raaste" to the 1986 film "Amrit", we gave hits together both as films and as music scores... When we went on our first overseas concert tour in 1984, he came and danced to three songs. He was very particular about his music and would take a tape home if he could not assess a song. He would then give his feedback after a day or two. But if he liked a song at the sitting, he would loudly shout "Wah! Wah!" in appreciation... It was God's blessing that we came up with such a vast range of hit songs for him, including in his home productions "Roti" and films like "Sachaa Jhutha", "Chhailla Babu", "Chakravyuha", "Fiffty Fiffty", "Amar Deep", "Bandish", "Asha Jyoti" and "Anurodh". Incidentally, he had a stake in "Mehboob Ki Mehndi" too. He had great interest in music and a terrific sense of melody too. His music is dominated by Pancham (R.D. Burman) and us and we accepted Shakti Samanta's "Anurodh" only because Rajesh Khanna had some misunderstanding with Pancham then, and did not want to work with him." Khanna would always request music directors to fit in Kishore Kumar wherever possible. In fact, Kishore was very reluctant to sing "Waada Tera Waada" in "Dushman" and suggested to Laxmikant-Pyarelal to get it sung by Rafi. Then Laxmikant made Kishore meet Rajesh Khanna and Khanna winked at Laxmikant and told Kishore that in that case the song should be scrapped. On hearing this, Kishore immediately agreed to sing it by himself for Khanna.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Actors who were part of the cast of most of his films include Ashok Kumar, Sujit Kumar, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri, Asrani, Bindu, Vijay Arora, Roopesh Kumar, Dina Pathak and A. K. Hangal, who remained part of his "working team" from the start until the late eighties. The lyricist whom he preferred for his movies was Anand Bakshi. Films by Shakti Samanta with Khanna in the lead, music by Pancham and lyrics by Anand Bakshi had people swooning. The films Samanta directed without Khanna in the eighties were duds. His other close friends from the film industry include Raj Babbar, J. Om Prakash, Prem Chopra and D. Rama Naidu and Jeetendra.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Celebrities of the post-2000 era, like Madhur Bhandarkar, say that they take at least three or four turns in Carter Road at that time, just to see Khanna. The younger generation stars like Imran Khan still regard Rajesh Khanna as someone who would take the top slot as the most romantic hero of all time. Shah Rukh Khan idolises Rajesh Khanna and has opined; "Rajesh Khanna, you can't touch". Anupam Kher said "Kishore Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, S. D. Burman, R. D. Burman, Rajesh Khanna and Smita Patil changed the face of Indian cinema. They're remembered by the films that they did." Actor Tom Alter confessed "I still dream of being Rajesh Khanna. For me, in the early 1970s, he was the only hero – romantic to the core, not larger than life, so Indian and real – he was my hero; the reason I came into films and he still is." Actor Irrfan Khan stated in an interview, "The kind of craze witnessed by Rajesh Khanna has not been duplicated by anyone. He was the biggest and the most real star Bollywood has produced. I'd say stardom is that feeling of being possessed by your idol; you are so overwhelmed with euphoria you lose touch with reality." The trend of wearing guru kurtas and belts on shirts became famous in the seventies and eighties because of Khanna. Javed Akhthar, in an interview, told about his experience with Khanna's stardom: "Bangalore used to have a state lottery and the government asked him to draw the lucky number. They organised it in a stadium. I was with him as we were discussing some scripts. I don't know if I will experience that again, the sound of 50,000 people gasping (when they saw him). He was like Caesar. It was unbelievable". Actor Salman Khan has told in many interviews that he or Aamir or Shahrukh have not even achieved 10 percent of kind of achievements Khanna had in field of acting or his stardom.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: While serving as Congress M.P. from 1991 to 1996, he returned to acting, playing the lead in "Khudai" (1994), which was about a father and son both falling in love with the same woman. In 1990, Khanna also worked in the blockbuster Swarg starring Govinda & Juhi Chawla, where he was seen portraying a patron to the character played by the lead. After 1992, he appeared in only 10 films and declined most film offers. He made a comeback as an NRI in "Aa Ab Laut Chalen" (1999), and "Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa" (2002) and played the solo lead in the films "Sautela Bhai" in 1996, "Pyar Zindagi Hai" in 2001, "Kaash Mere Hote" in 2009, "Wafaa" in 2008 and "Riyasaat" in 2010. He did 4 television serials in the period 2000–2009.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: He appeared in a rare interview in the show "Aap Ki Adalat" in 1992, where he quoted to the interviewer Rajat Sharma,


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: "I would just ask if I am arrogant, how come all these producers made so many films with me. My fans who turned this actor into a superstar would have never accepted me if I was arrogant. If I was arrogant people would not have made me a Lok Sabha member because if someone is arrogant, that arrogance is visible. And this public knows everything and understand everything".


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna was a life member of the International Film And Television Research Centre, the International Film And Television Club and the Asian Academy of Film & Television. He was Faculty Guest of "Specialised Cinema Courses At Asian School Of Media Studies". On 10 April 1999 Khanna inaugurated the live concert of S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, held at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad as a tribute to R. D. Burman. In 2001 and 2002, Rajesh played the lead in two television serials: "Aapne Parai" (B4U and DD Metro) and "Ittefaq" (Zee TV). He performed in a video album based on Tagore's songs (Rabindra Sangeet) without payment. He also endorsed "Star se Superstar tak" – a talent hunt programme in 2007 and donated a Gold Trophy of Rs.1 crore. In its Silver Jubilee Episode on 14–15 March 2008, "K for Kishore" aired a Rajesh Khanna special. He signed on to star in a TV serial with Creative Eye Banner, (Dhiraj Kumar) in 2007, and in 2008 performed in a TV serial, "Bhabhima", with Leena Ganguly as his co-star. His successful TV serial "Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi" began in November 2008 and ended in September 2009. Khanna cited the lack of good roles for actors like him in films as the reason for him not appearing much in films after 2001. He said in an interview on being queried about his decision to do TV serials: "The reach of TV is much more than cinema today and one episode of my serial is likely to be watched by more people than a super-hit film". In 2009, on his 67th birthday, Shemaroo Entertainment released his films and a song collection titled "Screen Legends-Rajesh Khanna-the Original Superstar". In May 2012, Havells, the fan making company endorsed Khanna as Brand Ambassador for their new ad campaign featuring him in solo advertisements.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: At the insistence of Rajiv Gandhi, he started campaigning for Congress after 1984. In the election for New Delhi seat in the 1991 Lok Sabha election, Khanna lost to L.K. Advani by a narrow margin of 1589 votes, after which Khanna stood on the grounds at the counting station insisting that he had been cheated of a win. In 1992, a by-election was called after the resignation of the incumbent Member of Parliament L.K. Advani. Khanna contested the seat again, won the by-election by defeating Shatrughan Sinha by 25,000 votes. Rajesh Khanna was a member of Parliament for the Indian National Congress, from the New Delhi constituency, where he won the 1992 by-election, retaining his seat until 1996 after which he was not interested in active politics. When Khanna was MP, he did not accept new acting assignments, but only acted in the film "Khudai" (1994). After leaving parliament, he was a political activist for the INC and campaigned for the party till the 2012 Punjab election.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna and a group of foreign investors bought land in Shirdi in which built a religious resort for disciples of Sai Baba of Shirdi.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Khanna fell in love with the then fashion designer and actress Anju Mahendru. They were in a relationship for seven years. Khanna's sudden stardom and his insistence that Mahendru quit her acting career eventually ended their relationship. Mahendru states that the couple did not speak to each other for 17 years after the break-up. Later Khanna married the budding actress Dimple Kapadia in March 1973, before Kapadia's debut film "Bobby" released in September that year. Khanna and Kapadia have two daughters from the marriage; Twinkle and Rinke. Khanna and Kapadia separated in 1982, but never completed the divorce proceedings. According to Yasser Usman's biography of Khanna, the couple separated because Kapadia wished to return to acting. She had quit acting when she married Khanna since the latter wanted his partner to be a housewife. A few years after their marriage Kapadia decided to resume her career. However, Khanna remained adamant that his wife will not work. Kapadia eventually left Khanna and started her career in films. In the 1980s, Tina Munim was in love with Rajesh Khanna. Munim had been a fan of Rajesh since her school days. They appeared in ten films together between 1981 and 1986. According to website Bollywood Mantra reporter, Khanna refused to marry her as their marriage would have a bad impact on his daughters. Khanna and Kapadia however maintained an amicable relationship where they both were seen together at parties and family functions. Kapadia also campaigned for Khanna's election and worked in his film "Jai Shiv Shankar" (1990), although the film never got released. After Tina Munim's exit, Khanna resumed his friendship with Anju Mahendru.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna's elder daughter Twinkle Khanna, an interior decorator and a former film actress, is married to actor Akshay Kumar, while his younger daughter Rinke Khanna, also a former Hindi film actress, is married to a London-based investment banker Samir Saran. On 17 July 2012, a woman named Anita Advani claimed that she had been Khanna's live-in partner, and sent a legal notice to his family members asking for compensation. The family denied the claims.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: His closest friends from the industry included Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Mumtaz, Shashi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Kishore Kumar, R.D. Burman, Anand Bakshi, Sharmila Tagore, D. Rama Naidu, Prem Chopra, Manoj Kumar, Ashok Kumar and Jeetendra. He also maintained cordial relationships with Asha Parekh, Zeenat Aman, Dev Anand, Yash Chopra, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Rishi Kapoor and Rakesh Roshan. In his later years, he became friendlier with Amitabh Bachchan, who was billed as his main rival in the 1970s and 1980s.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: In June 2012, it was reported that Rajesh Khanna's health had been deteriorating for some time. On 23 June he was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai due to health complications. He was discharged on 8 July from the hospital and was reportedly fine.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: On 14 July, Khanna was readmitted to the Lilavati Hospital, but was discharged on 16 July. He died on 18 July 2012, at his bungalow, Aashirwad, in Mumbai. Sources confirmed that his health had been deteriorating since July 2011 as he was diagnosed with cancer. After his death his co-star Mumtaz said that he was suffering from cancer for the duration of the prior year and had undergone chemotherapy sessions. His funeral took place on 19 July at 11:00. His funeral was attended by 9 lakh people and his fans had come from places like Surat, Ahmedabad, and even from foreign countries as well. Police had to resort to lathi-charge to control the crowd of fans who had gathered for the procession from his Bandra house to the crematorium. He died in the presence of his wife Dimple Kapadia, daughters Rinke Khanna and Twinkle Khanna, son-in-law Akshay Kumar, Grandchildren, Anju Mahendru and other close relatives. His pyre was lit by his grandson, Aarav, with the assistance of Akshay Kumar.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: The President of India, Pratibha Patil lamented the passing away of the actor. In a press release she said "I am saddened to learn about the passing away of Rajesh Khanna. In his prime as an actor he was the heartthrob of the young generation of 1970s, who tried to model themselves on him and his style." Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi who used to Chief Minister of Gujarat mourn on his death. Many celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Karan Johar, Shabana Azmi, Rishi Kapoor and many politicians also paid homage to him after his death. His prayer meeting, organised in a grand way at the Taj Land's End hotel in Bandra, Mumbai on 21 July 2012, was attended by many.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: A postage stamp featuring Khanna was released by the India Post on 3 May 2013. On his first death anniversary, a bronze statue of Rajesh Khanna was unveiled at Bandra Bandstand, Mumbai. A chowk (intersection) in Girgaon has been named "Superstar Rajesh Khanna Chowk" in his memory. A Park at Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi has been renamed as Superstar Rajesh Khanna Park in his memory.


title: Rajesh Khanna

text: Khanna won seven All-India Critics Association (AICA) Best Actor Awards, and received 10 nominations. He won four Best Actor Awards in the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, and received 25 nominations. He won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards, one Filmfare Special Guest Actor Award in 1973, and received a Filmfare Special Award in 1991, after 25 years in the Hindi film industry. He received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th anniversary Filmfare Awards ceremony in 2005. He also received the IIFA Lifetime Achievement award in 2009.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (released in some markets as Escape Room: No Way Out and Escape Room 2: Deadly Game) is a 2021 American survival horror film directed by Adam Robitel and written by Will Honley, Maria Melnik, Daniel Tuch, and Oren Uziel. A sequel to 2019's "Escape Room", it stars Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, and Deborah Ann Woll reprising their roles from the first film, alongside new cast members Indya Moore, Holland Roden, Thomas Cocquerel, and Carlito Olivero, and follows a group of six people trying to survive a new series of more deadly escape rooms.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: After the first film became a surprise hit in 2019, Columbia Pictures approved a sequel. Robitel returned as the director with Schut writing the script, and Russell and Miller reprised their roles alongside the addition of new cast members. Filming took place in Cape Town, South Africa, from November 2019 to January 2020, with additional filming in January 2021.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions" was theatrically released in Australia on July 1, 2021, and in the United States on July 16, by Sony Pictures Releasing, following several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film grossed $66million and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its cast, atmosphere, and elaborate puzzles, but noted the film's failure to improve upon its predecessor. An "extended cut" version was released the following October 5, featuring a different opening and ending, as well as large differences in the story and characters featured; Woll is notably completely absent from the new version, while Isabelle Fuhrman and James Frain both appear as new key characters.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: After escaping the "sole survivor" escape rooms orchestrated by the Minos Corporation, Zoey Davis and Ben Miller decide to confront the shadowy organization after finding coordinates to its New York City–based headquarters. Zoey is encouraged by her therapist to move on from her trauma and to get over her aerophobia, but she opts to drive with Ben instead of flying.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: The pair find the headquarters derelict and are accosted by a vagrant who steals Zoey's necklace. She and Ben give chase straight into the Q subway train. Their train car separates from the rest of the train and is redirected to a remote station, sealing Zoey, Ben, and other passengers Rachel, Brianna, Nathan, and Theo inside. As the passengers realize in horror that they are once again in Minos' deadly game, the train becomes electrified. Zoey and Ben learn that the others are the "winners" of previous escape rooms, having survived them. To escape, the group must collect subway tokens as the electrification increases. Theo is killed while the rest escape. Nathan reveals his escape room group were all priests, Brianna's were all influencers, and Rachel's consisted of people who cannot feel physical pain.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: The next room is a bank with a slowly closing vault and a deadly laser security system. The group manages to decipher the complex route to get around the lasers and escape with just seconds to spare. While in the room, Zoey is perplexed by frequent references to someone called Sonya and that the escape rooms have no apparent connection to the group unlike before.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: The next room is a postcard-like beach with more references to Sonya. They discover that the beach is covered in quicksand. While Rachel is sinking, Nathan sacrifices himself to save Rachel and is swallowed up by the sand. Zoey finds an alternate route out just as Brianna unlocks the intended exit. An argument on which route to take breaks out; Rachel and Ben side with Zoey. Brianna escapes through the main exit while Rachel and Zoey traverse to the alternate route, but Ben falls into the quicksand.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Zoey and Rachel make their way out through a manhole back into the city. Overjoyed at first that they are outside, they quickly realize they are still in the game when they encounter a panicked Brianna. If they do not make it out of this room, acid rain is periodically sprayed on them. The group opens a taxi to escape into but once Zoey enters, the taxi locks Rachel and Brianna out. Zoey falls into the next room while Rachel and Brianna succumb to the rain and die.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: The next room is a child's bedroom containing a diary from Sonya, revealing the rooms are based on a fun day out she had with her mother. Zoey discovers Sonya's mother is Amanda Harper, who survived her fall in her original escape room and was forced into designing escape rooms for Minos after they abducted her daughter. Amanda appears and begs Zoey to become the next puzzle-maker for Minos, warning that she has no choice. Ben is revealed to be trapped in a cage. When Zoey refuses Minos' demand, Ben's cage starts filling with water, but Zoey and Amanda work together to free him. They manage to break out, fleeing the facility. They report their findings to the police, who retrieve the bodies of Rachel, Brianna, Nathan, and Theo; the news about Minos goes public. An FBI agent assures Zoey that Minos will be tracked down.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Filled with confidence, Zoey decides to take a plane home with Ben. Onboard, she sees a woman who resembles her therapist, and then realizes she is in another escape room. The distorted voice of Minos' leader mocks Zoey and Ben for falling into their latest trap as the plane begins to fall and sleeping gas fills the cabin.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Isabelle Fuhrman and James Frain appear in the film's alternate version as Claire and Henry, respectively, in a plotline revealing the puzzle maker's story. Tanya van Graan makes an uncredited appearance as Sonya, who is Henry's wife and Claire's mother in this cut.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Additionally, Lucy Newman-Williams appears as Zoey's therapist and Scott Coker portrays an FBI agent in the theatrical cut. Matt Esof portrays the vagrant who lures Zoey and Ben into Minos' trap in both versions.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, and Nik Dodani also appear as Jason Walker, Mike Nolan, and Danny Khan in flashbacks of the first film.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: In February 2019, a sequel to "Escape Room" was announced as being in active development, with Adam Robitel set to return to direct along with screenwriter Bragi F. Schut and producer Neal H. Moritz.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: In April 2019, Robitel stated in an interview with "Bloody Disgusting" that one of the challenges the production team faced in its development was to figure out how to design new escape rooms that would outdo those the original film featured. He said:


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: He continued, "We're knee deep in developing the sequel. We're exploring various ideas with how it all plays out."


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: He intended the first film's final scene, which depicted an escape room disguised as a hijacked airplane, to suggest that Minos, the organization behind the deadly escape rooms, may be more powerful, sinister and given to surveilling than previously thought, which he planned to expand upon in the sequel. He said:


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: The film's official title, "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions", was announced in a press conference on May 20, 2021.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: In October 2019, Collider reported that Isabelle Fuhrman had joined the cast, alongside returning cast members Taylor Russell and Logan Miller. Later that month, Holland Roden, Thomas Cocquerel, Indya Moore, and Carlito Olivero also joined the cast.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: The film was originally scheduled to be released on April 17, 2020. Its release date was subsequently changed several times, and in May 2020, it was scheduled to be released on January 1, 2021. In October 2020, Sony moved the film to sometime later in 2021. In January 2021, it was announced that the film's release date would be pushed back again, to January 7, 2022. The film was later moved up to July 16, 2021. The film was first released in Australia on July 1, 2021.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: When asked about whether the film would also be available to stream at the same time it was released to theaters to accommodate those uncertain of the safety of in-theater attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Robitel stated that the film will pursue a standard theatrical release with no streaming alternative because he believes that the darkness of the standard theater room would allow the film to be at its most frightening and thrilling.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions" was released digitally on September 21 and was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 5, 2021, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The video edition will contain an extended and alternative version of the film with a new plot and characters and a different ending.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Prior to release, the extended cut of the film was reported to feature 25 minutes of new footage; however, upon release it was discovered that the runtime of the film was only six minutes longer than the theatrical cut. The extended version of the film largely reshapes the plot of the film, entirely removing Deborah Ann Woll's character from the film. Isabelle Fuhrman and James Frain instead appear as Claire and Henry, respectively, who reveal more about Minos' inner workings behind the scenes. This large change in narrative has led critics to wonder how future installments of the franchise will be affected by these "incompatible" plotlines.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: In the extended cut, the film opens with Henry, revealed to be a designer of the escape rooms. When his wife Sonya threatens to divorce him and take their daughter Claire with her, she is killed after being trapped in a sauna.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Later in the film, when there is a malfunction during the Acid Rain room's transition, Zoey is taken to a department of Minos where she meets Claire, who turns out to be the actual puzzle maker. Claire has been locked up in a room by her father, who is one of the higher-ups in Minos and who has forced her to create elaborate escape rooms after which he has taken all of the credit. Claire begs Zoey to help her get out of the room. Up until that point Zoey has been hesitant, until it is revealed Ben has been saved by Claire who created a secret compartment under the quicksand for him to fall into. However, Ben is found by Henry's men and thrown into the final room: a sauna. With Zoey's help Claire manages to break out, and is then met by her father. Zoey and Claire succeed in fighting Claire's father off and they save Ben. Claire locks the Minos employees inside the control room, and suggests Zoey report her findings to the police.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: After Zoey escapes to the original location where she finds Ben in an ambulance, it is revealed that Claire was evil all along. When she was younger, she tried to be as evil as possible in an attempt to see if her parents truly loved her as she is. When her mother Sonya said that she was getting her help by sending her away, Claire murdered her in the sauna. Claire ultimately traps her father in her old room and kills him. It is suggested that she will be the series' villain moving forward.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions" grossed $25.3million in the United States and Canada, and $40.7million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $66million.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside "", "Pig", and "", and was projected to gross $7–10million from 2,775 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $3.8million on its first day, including $1.2million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $8.8million, finishing third at the box office. It fell 60 percent in its second weekend to $3.5million, finishing sixth.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, ""Escape Room: Tournament of Champions" may appeal to fans of the original who've been hoping for a sequel, but its increasingly convoluted rules add up to a very unpleasant game night." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on review from 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, the same as the first film, while PostTrak reported 69% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 44% saying they would definitely recommend it.


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: William Bibbiani of the "TheWrap" wrote: "Make no mistake: "Escape Room: Tournament of Champions" may be fun, it's also incredibly stupid. The premise makes no sense. The mechanics make no sense. The plot makes no sense. Look elsewhere for storytelling sanity. Look here if you want to see confident, creepy absurdity, with a ghoulish imagination and showmanship to spare."


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: Jesse Hassenger of "The A.V. Club" gave the film a "C+", writing: "After 30 or 40 minutes, it becomes clear that, despite a few more callbacks, this is a more-of-the-same sequel, not a next-level sequel." From "The Hollywood Reporter", John DeFore called the film an "underwhelming attempt to turn a tight little thriller into a sequel-spawning franchise" and said: ""Tournament" provides genre buffs with a lesson in diminishing returns, and may leave most of them impatient for an unambiguous 'Game Over.'"


title: Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

text: When asked whether there would be a third "Escape Room" film that would continue from "Champions" cliffhanger ending, Robitel replied that it could be made if "Champions" generates a good box office run and sufficient interest in a continuation of its story.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: Midway is a 2019 war film about the Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The film was directed by Roland Emmerich, who also produced the film with Harald Kloser, and was written by Wes Tooke. The film stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Tadanobu Asano, Darren Criss and Woody Harrelson.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: The film was a passion project of Emmerich's, and he had trouble getting financial support for the film before finally raising sufficient funds and officially announcing the project in 2017. Much of the cast joined in summer 2018, and filming began in Hawaii that September. Some filming also took place in Montreal. With a production budget of $100million, it is to date one of the most expensive independent films of all time.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: "Midway" was theatrically released by Lionsgate in the United States on November8, 2019 and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals but criticized the screenplay. The film was a box office bomb, grossing only $126 million worldwide against a $100 million budget.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: In December 1937 in Tokyo, American naval attaché intelligence officer Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Layton and his counterpart are discussing the US and Japanese positions in the Pacific Ocean during a state function. Layton is warned by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto that if the US threatens the Japanese oil supply, then the Japanese will take immediate action.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: After the US cuts off Japan's oil supply, the Japanese use their carrier fleet to strike at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The attack leads the US to enter World War II. Naval aviator Lieutenant Dick Best and the Air Group (CAG) of the carrier fail to find the Japanese carrier fleet, exacerbating his rivalry with his commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Eugene E. Lindsey. Admiral Yamamoto, with the support of Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, proposes his most audacious plan yet—the invasion of Midway Island using the four available carriers of the "Kido Butai", but are overruled by the Army. "Enterprise" launches raids against the Marshall Islands in February 1942. During an attack by Mitsubishi G3M Nell bombers, one crippled Nell turns back towards the ship in a suicide ramming attempt, but Aviation Machinist's Mate Third Class Bruno Gaido shoots the aircraft down from a parked Dauntless. The crashing bomber slices Gaido's Dauntless in half, but he survives. Vice Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, impressed by Gaido's courage, promotes him to Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class. In April 1942, following Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle 's raid on the Japanese mainland, Yamamoto, Yamaguchi and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo are finally allowed to begin their plan to attack Midway.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: In May 1942, following the Battle of the Coral Sea, Layton, along with Joseph Rochefort and his cryptology team, begin intercepting messages concerning a location the Japanese identify as "AF." Layton speaks with Admiral Chester Nimitz, who informs him that Washington believes "AF" to be a target in the South Pacific. Layton disagrees, believing the intended target to be Midway Atoll. After meeting with Rochefort, Nimitz instructs the team to find a way to prove that "AF" is Midway definitively. After Layton instructs Midway to telegraph in the clear (unencrypted) that they are suffering a water shortage, cryptologists working for Rochefort intercept Japanese communications concerning water shortages on "AF," confirming that "AF" is indeed Midway.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: In preparation for an ambush of the Japanese fleet, Nimitz orders carriers and "Enterprise" recalled from the Coral Sea and demands that the damaged be made ready for combat operations. During the preparations, Best is briefly demoralized after one of his proteges crashes during a takeoff. Still, he receives encouragement from the Commander of the Air Group (CAG) of the Enterprise, Wade McCluskey. Best and Lindsey set aside their differences and work together to prepare for the attack. Halsey is put on shore leave by Nimitz after receiving a bad case of the shingles and is temporarily replaced by Raymond A. Spruance.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: On June 4, the Japanese launch an air attack against Midway. Initial attempts by US land-based aircraft to strike at the Japanese fleet carriers fail. However, Nagumo and Captain Genda are left shaken by the Americans' unexpected bravery when one bomber narrowly misses the bridge of the in its attempt to ram the carrier. The Japanese fleet learns of the presence of the American carriers. American submarine unsuccessfully attacks a Japanese carrier and is chased off by Japanese destroyer . Lindsey and other American torpedo squadrons attack the Japanese fleet but are shot down. Realizing that the Americans' attacks are preventing the fleet from launching their counterstrike, Yamaguchi orders Nagumo to launch his strike as soon as possible. Despite suffering from respiratory issues from breathing a bad mix of oxygen, Best refuses to leave his men behind and leads his and McCluskey's squadrons into battle. Upon spotting the "Arashi", McClusky correctly infers the Japanese destroyer is rushing back to the main Japanese fleet and leads his planes to follow its course. Arriving to find the Japanese Combat Air Patrol out of position due to the previous torpedo attacks, the dive-bombers score several hits on "Akagi", and , resulting in fires and further explosions due to unsecured ordinance. Nagumo, demoralized and in a state of shock, is persuaded by Genda to transfer his flag to a cruiser. Frank Woodrow O'Flaherty and Gaido are shot down, picked up by the Japanese, and executed when they refuse to talk. Yamaguchi, aboard , is more willing to fight and launches a strike wave that succeeds in crippling "Yorktown", prompting "Enterprise" and "Hornet" to launch their remaining aircraft. Best leads the squadron, which successfully inflicts severe damage to the "Hiryu". Admiral Yamaguchi and Captain Tomeo Kaku go down with their command as "Hiryu" is scuttled.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: Yamamoto receives news that his carrier force has been destroyed. After learning that the American fleet has withdrawn, thus depriving him of the chance to use his main force of battleships to win a night battle against the American fleet, he orders a general withdrawal. At Pearl Harbor, Rochefort intercepts the Japanese order to withdraw and passes it to Layton, who then informs Nimitz. Meanwhile, Best is discharged from the Navy for his lung problems and decides to return home to his wife and daughter, who are both overjoyed to see that he survived.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: On May 23, 2017, it was reported that Roland Emmerich would be directing the World WarII film "Midway." Due to its potential lofty budget (with estimates putting its needed cost at $125million), Emmerich had trouble getting the film greenlit. When no major studio would bankroll the project, he cut down on potential battle sequences and turned to individuals for the funds, resulting in $76million; he then got an additional $24million in equity, mostly from Chinese investors, resulting in the film's $100million budget. It is one of the most costly independent films ever made. Emmerich had previously attempted to mount the film at Sony Pictures in the 1990s, with William Goldman becoming interested in the project. However, as with the final rendition, executives balked at the proposed $100million budget ($152million by 2019 inflation), and Emmerich moved on to direct "The Patriot".


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: In April 2018, Woody Harrelson and Mandy Moore joined the ensemble cast for the film. In July 2018, Luke Evans was cast in the film to play Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky, who was awarded the Navy Cross for his role in the Battle of Midway. Robby Baumgartner was hired as cinematographer. August saw the additions of Patrick Wilson, Ed Skrein, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Tadanobu Asano, Dennis Quaid, and others to the cast. Darren Criss, Alexander Ludwig, and Brandon Sklenar were cast in September. Filming began on September5, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was also shot in Montreal, Quebec.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: In November 2018, it was announced that VFX company Scanline VFX will be the main VFX vendor, and that Pixomondo had signed on to provide additional visual effects.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: A teaser poster for the film was released on June4, 2019, which was also the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. A set of 13 still photographs depicting scenes from the film was released on June26, 2019, and the first trailer for the film was released the following day (June27). The second and final trailer of the film was released on September12, 2019, with the film's theatrical poster on September25. All-in-all, Lionsgate spent around $40million promoting the film.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: "Midway" was released on Digital HD on February4, 2020, and on DVD and Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on February18, 2020.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: "Midway" grossed $56.8million in the United States and Canada, and $68.5million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $125.4million, against a production budget of $100million.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: In the United States and Canada, "Midway" was released alongside "Doctor Sleep", "Playing with Fire", and "Last Christmas", and was projected to gross around $15million from 3,242 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $6.3million on its first day (including $925,000 from Thursday night previews). It went on to debut to $17.5million, beating box office expectations and upsetting projected winner "Doctor Sleep" by finishing first at the box office. In its second weekend the film made $8.8million, finishing second behind newcomer "Ford v Ferrari", before making $4.7million and finishing in fifth in its third weekend.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: ""Midway" revisits a well-known story with modern special effects and a more balanced point of view, but its screenplay isn't quite ready for battle." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 58% saying they would definitely recommend it.


title: Midway (2019 film)

text: Barry Hertz of "The Globe and Mail" gave the film a score of 2/4 stars, describing it as "a Second World War epic that runs a comparatively paltry 138 minutes yet feels about five times as long", concluding that the film was "a choppy bore, its main source of intrigue centred around whatever New Jersey-ese accent British actor Ed Skrein is attempting as dive bomber Richard Best." Michael O'Sullivan of "The Washington Post" gave the film a score of 2.5/4 stars, saying that it "tells a story that’s vividly and viscerally rendered, with all the entertainment value of a big, old-fashioned war movie", but added: "the kiss-kiss never really registers with quite the same impact as the bang-bang." Wendy Ide of "The Observer" gave the film a score of 2/5 stars, writing: "Every tired war movie cliche is unearthed in a film that brings nothing new but will no doubt please fans of men in uniform yelling at explosions."