Not all stars have had the privilege or lineage of a famous movie-related family. Not all have been given blockbuster debuts or fancy paychecks at the beginning of their careers. Infact you’ll be surprised to know that most celebrities come from middle-class backgrounds and have worked their way up only due to their sheer talent and hard work. Most of these celebs have outshown their silver spoon-fed colleagues and become more successful as well.
Do you know what Ranveer Singh’s profession was before he became a dynamic actor? You’ll have to scroll down to get that information! So let’s have a look at what celebrities did before they became famous.
1. Sunny Leone
No, we are not referring to her days as an adult star. Before that bold career move of hers, she actually worked at a German bakery, and later at a tax and retirement firm.
2. Amitabh Bachchan
Big B’s first job was in a company called Shaw Wallace a shipping firm as an executive. Later on, the superstar of Bollywood worked as a freight broker for a shipping firm called Bird and Co. He tried being a radio announcer, but was rejected by All India Radio (can you believe that?)
3. Jacqueline Fernandez
The former Sri Lankan beauty queen had worked as a TV reporter in Sri Lanka, and even reported news dealing with political turmoil in the country.
4. John Abraham
As a youngster, John joined a media firm at Time & Space Media Entertainment Promotions Ltd and Enterprise Nexus, where he was a media planner, prior to his modeling days. Yes, he became one of the top successful male models in India and the envy of all youngsters with his bulging biceps and physique. But he comes from a middle-class family and after his modelling stint, he became an actor.
5. Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Born in a farmer’s family in Uttar Pradesh, this talented actor had eight siblings. He used to earn his bread and butter by working as a chemist there. Then, he moved to Delhi to where he worked as a watchman for one and a half years. Later he pursued his passion for theatre and became an alumnus of the famed National School of Drama. And thanks to NSD, we saw performances like Black Friday, Mom, Raees and Gangs of Wasseypur.
6. Arshad Warsi
This actor, dancer, and director went a long way before he became as Circuit (Munnabhai MBBS). Forced by dire financial circumstances, Arshad worked as a door-to-door cosmetics salesman at the tender age of 17. He also worked in a photo lab. Having had a keen interest in dancing, he went on to start his own dance studio after joining Akbar Sami’s Dance and formed his own troupe.
7. R Madhavan
The ‘3 Idiots’ actor and South India’s superstar, Madhavan has always been a very good orator, prior to his acting stints. It is his orating abilities which made him start a small business, conducting workshops on communication and public speaking, after becoming a graduate in the same.
8. Boman Irani
The super-talented Parsi actor was teaching courses on public speaking and personality development skills after school. Before his late entry into films, he was employed with Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel as a waiter and room service staff! Later, he helped his mother in running their ancestral bakery shop in South Mumbai. He switched to photography but finally joined theater before Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. came calling.
9. Sonam Kapoor
Although she is the daughter of actor and producer Anil Kapoor and the grandchild of filmmaker Surinder Kapoor, Sonam never started with acting as her first stance in Bollywood. It is a known fact that she assisted acclaimed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in the movie “Black”. What many people might not know is she was a waitress at the age of 15 (of course just for experience sake).
10. Akshay Kumar
A black belt in Taekwondo, Khiladi Kumar worked as a chef and a waiter in Bangkok. After returning to Mumbai, he started teaching martial arts as well. Owing to his good looks, his friends suggested that he should try modelling, which would later lead him to enter films and of course the multi-crore bracket later.
11. Rajinikanth
Owing to his humble background, the Tamil megastar (since the 70s) is regarded as the highest paid actors in Asia. But all this fame didn’t come to the south superstar in a jiffy. He did various menial jobs like that of a coolie and carpenter to support himself and his family financially. He later joined Bangalore Transport Service as a bus conductor – known for issuing tickets and blowing the whistle during driving. Thankfully his luck changed soon!
12. Sonakshi Sinha
Her parents are legendary Indian actor Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha, and she started her career as a model, but before Sonakshi Sinha got herself in front of the camera in thriller “Dabangg” in 2010, she was a costume designer. The actress-to-be created costumes for the film “Mera Dil Leke Dekho”.
13. Sidharth Malhotra
Sidharth dabbled in modeling at the age of 18 to earn some bucks as pocket money. A typical Delhi boy, Sidharth, with his good looks and tall height, features in a lot of photo-shoots and fashion shows but later quit after four years as he was dissatisfied with the profession. Bollywood was his final calling and he worked as an assistant director to Karan Johar on the superhit film ‘My Name Is Khan’.
14. Raaj Kumar
One of the most stylish actors of Hindi cinema, Raaj Kumar was a sub-inspector in Mumbai Police. Now we know the secret behind why he pulled off khaki characters with such nonchalance!
15. Ranveer Singh
He always wanted to be an actor, but before he became the Ranveer Singh we know, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University and worked as a copywriter in advertising, in renowned agencies like O&M and J. Walter Thompson. Ranveer Singh has since worked in some of the finest films and with some of the biggie names in the industry.
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