How These Bollywood Stars Struggled Before Gaining Their Current Success

Posted by Priya Rajput on February 24th, 2020

Every celebrity struggles to make a name for themselves in the entertainment industry. The glamor, dazzling lights, and impressive checks might be tempting and enticing. But there are plenty of struggles that come along with reaching the point where the spotlight follows you everywhere.

There are entertainers who became popular through connections from influential parties, but that doesn’t mean every other person is unfaithful in the industry.

Bollywood is not only slowly taking the world; it already has everyone wrapped around its finger. Even foreigners who live in nations where Indian music is far from heard still know about the existence of Bollywood.

Many of them can even recite the lyrics effortlessly. With Bollywood’s fame, India has received a way to represent itself in a positive light in international media. The world is getting to experience traditional melodies in gorgeous music videos and films adorned with cultural embroidered dresses and classical Indian dances.

Bollywood stars have now become India’s pride. However, their journey towards achieving this unreal amount of success and changing Indian entertainment through their presence hasn’t been undemanding. Let’s take a look at the struggles of some of the most prominent celebrities in Bollywood:

Shah Rukh Khan

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to declare that Shahrukh Khan is indeed the king of Bollywood. He has contributed immensely to the industry, and is still going strong proving himself as a talented actor and entertainer.

There are innumerous young people mentioning him to be their inspiration for considering Bollywood as a plausible career choice. He is currently under the spotlight and a role model to many, but his early days weren’t so bright and vibrant.

The actor belonged to a lower-income background, and he struggled to make ends meet most of the time. He slept on the streets and roads before he became a renowned actor.

He was struggling financially so he began to take roles rejected by other stars. For example, he starred in Deewana which Armaan Kohli declined. Still, he continues his hard work and faced the challenges life threw his way.

Now, he has hundreds and thousands of movies under his name, each of them are just as successful and loved as the next.

Akshay Khumar

Many of you remember him from the classic film ‘Singh Is King’, but even if you cannot, you still know for a fact he is one of the most highest-paid Bollywood actors in the industry currently.

Some people have it all sorted out from the beginning. They enter the industry without any considerable struggle and become superstars, but Akshay’s life story would beg to differ.

Belonging to a middle class family, he spent his days focusing on studying and accepting the fact he was destined for the 9 to 5 life. However, during his college years, he made a sudden decision to visit Thailand to train for martial arts.

He was passionate about the competitive sport, and hoped to pursue a career in it. But things didn’t work out exactly as planned.

He survived on odd jobs and worked as a waiter in Bangkok to support his dream. Then, he returned to India to work as a salesman in Dhaka and a jewelry trader in Dehli. After years of committing to under-paying jobs, he entered the Bollywood industry.

Askhay used to be a backup dancer for films and even worked as an assistant to photographer Jayesh Sheth. However, his life steered in the most profitable direction possible after he received the opportunity to star in the movie Deedar. A little more struggle along the way, the rest is now history!

Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan is a unquestionably a Bollywood legend. His films were immensely popular in the 1970’s, such as Sholay and Zanjeer. He continued to bag awards for every major acting category, and still is a prominent celebrity in India.

His mother supported his decision to pursue a career in filming. She herself was passionate about theatre and films, but never received the opportunity to take part. Before his role in Zanjeer, barely anyone knew of him.

He did small roles in various movies, but none of them were rewarding. But Zanjeer became a breakthrough for him. It was a huge hit, giving Amitabh his first Filmfare nomination for best actor. Then, he worked in the movie Abhimaan and later on Namak haram, both of which also did well.

Deepika Padukone

Deepika acquired success because of her impressive modeling career. Her father was an international badminton player, and she pursued the sport in her school years. Eventually, she expressed interest in becoming a fashion model which her father supported.

Her start in the film industry was powerful. She starred in Om Shanti Om which people still watch religiously. It was the highest-grossing film of the year 2007, and gave Deepika a fair boost in the film industry.

So she didn’t struggle from any significant challenges in the beginning of her career, but eventually in the year 2010, she released five movies, all of them failing terribly.

Afterwards, in 2012 and 2013, she got back on track with movies like Cocktail, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and Race 2. Her success as a Bollywood actress is consistent to this date. Despite her achievements during these years, she suffered from depressive symptoms in 2014.

Though, her mental health has recovered since then, it is still a reminder how she struggled for years in her career.

The challenges such prominent celebrities went through are inspiring for people withstanding their own personal battles. If all these big names were able to pull themselves out of their dark place and achieve success, so can you!

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Author : Priya Rajput

Priya Rajput is an enthusiastic content writer. She is dedicated to educating and inspiring the world how to become better storytellers.