12 Bollywood celebrities who struggled before they became famous
Last updated on - Jan 29, 2018, 18:38 ISTShare fbsharetwsharepinshare
11/13Sonakshi Sinha
She is a daughter of actors Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha. After working as a costume designer in her early career, Sinha made her acting debut in the action-drama film ‘Dabangg’ (2010), which won her all the Debut awards including the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Sinha has played the romantic interest of the male protagonists in several top-grossing action-dramas, including ‘Rowdy Rathore’ (2012), ‘Son of Sardaar’ (2012), ‘Dabangg 2’ (2012) and ‘Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty’ (2014), though she was criticized for taking up roles that offered her limited scope. She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a woman suffering from tuberculosis in the romantic drama ‘Lootera’, for which she received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. In addition to acting in films, she has sung a small part in the Imran Khan song "Let's Celebrate" in her film ‘Tevar ‘. She then made her official singing debut with the single ‘Aaj Mood Isqholic hai’ and sung in a total of four of her films.
12/13Vidya Balan
She has established a career in Hindi films and is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award, six Filmfare Awards, and six Screen Awards. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014. Vidya is known for portraying strong protagonists and has been acknowledged in the media for pioneering a change in the concept of a Hindi film heroine. But during her initial days, she acted as a TV actress and also did ads as well. Vidya aspired to a career in film from a young age, and had her first acting role in the 1995 sitcom ‘Hum Paanch’. She pursued a master's degree in sociology from the University of Mumbai and simultaneously made several unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film. She subsequently featured in television commercials and music videos. In 2003 she made her feature film debut as the protagonist of the independent Bengali drama ‘Bhalo Theko’. In 2005 Vidya garnered praise for her first Hindi film, the drama ‘Parineeta’, and followed it with a leading role in the highly successful 2006 comedy film ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’.
13/13Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Nawazuddin Siddiqui who is one of the finest actors of Bollywood, as also struggled a lot in the beginning of his career. He worked as a chemist and also a watchman in Delhi for one and a half year. Siddiqui was born on 19 May 1974 in Budhana, a small town, and tehsil in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India, into a zamindari Muslim family of Numberdars. He is the eldest of his eight siblings. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar. Following this, he worked as a chemist in Vadodara for a year, before leaving for Delhi in search of a new job. Once in Delhi, he was instantly drawn to acting after watching a play. In pursuit of securing admission at the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi, he acted in over ten plays with a group of friends, to fulfill one of the criteria for admission. Nawazuddin Siddiqui made his Bollywood debut in 1999, with a small role in the Aamir Khan starrer ‘Sarfarosh’. He then appeared in Ram Gopal Varma's ‘Shool’,’ Jungle’; and Rajkumar Hirani's ‘Munnabhai MBBS’. After moving to Mumbai he tried to get work in television serials but did not achieve much success.
