live a life that is the envy of us, lower mortals. But not all Bollywood celebrities were born with a silver spoon – neither were from a Bollywood family, nor were they well-off.
Like the song ‘Started from the bottom, now we’re here’, these 10 celebs tenaciously made their way into famedom. Let’s take a look.
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan has a mammoth stature in Bollywood – to be part of the Bachchan family is to be royalty almost. But the actor to being one of the biggest superstars in the film industry for well over a couple of decades. Big B came from Allahabad to Mumbai, where he had to pass many nights on the benches of Marine Drive because he did not have a house or home.
Mehmood
Mehmood started off very reluctantly as a child actor – and before he became the famous face of Bollywood comedy films, he used to work , poultry seller and did other odd jobs – like teaching Meena Kumari how to play table tennis! It was only after getting married and becoming a father that he gave acting a serious thought and became the next generation’s Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker
Actor-comedian Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi began his career under the stage-name Johnny Walker because he impressed Guru Dutt with his screen test where he acted as a drunk. Before that, he was a bus in Mumbai where he used to entertain his passengers with antics and thus caught the eye of Balraj Sahni who took him to meet Dutt.
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan is one of the biggest stars of Bollywood today. But 25 years ago, he came from humble beginnings and worked his way to the top. Delhi-boy who quit his Masters Degree in Mass Communication to follow his acting dream – he left for Mumbai with a meager 1500 rupees and started. And decades later, SRK has now shorn off his middle-class background and become a superstar.
Rajinikanth
Rajinikanth was not always the god figure he is now for the South Indian film industry. Before he was Thalaiva, he was a poor child who worked as a coolie and bus conductor to earn his living. playing bit roles in Kannada mythological moral plays – and before he knew it, his debut film ‘Apoorva Raagangal’ had won a National Film Award. There was no stopping Rajini from thereon.
Akshay Kumar
He is a big ‘Khiladi’ today – with his award-winning performances and superstar aura. Not very long ago, he was a waiter and dishwasher in Bangkok. Even when he became a chef, he did not get more than 1500 rupees and slept on the kitchen floor at night. With his martial arts training, he came back to India and got into the industry only because it paid more.
