15 Actors Who Defeated Nepotism And Made It Big In Bollywood

Bollywood industry has largely been influenced by people who haven’t heir connections in the industry. The so called star kids of already established people are shooed into the limelight and are are allowed to stay there irrespective of success or failure. And a potential actor has to struggle to set his feet in the tinsel town. However, there are few stars who made it big despite not having all the advantages.

Below is the list of 15 such stars who made it big into Bollywood and emerged over nepotism:

1. Randeep Hooda

Randeep was born in Haryana, educated in business in Melbourne, and worked in the marketing department with an airline company, Randeep Hooda later on, started his career in modeling and theater work. He made his debut in the Bollywood industry with Mira Nair’s movie Monsoon Wedding in the year 2001. Randeep Hooda, however, gained popularity with Ram Gopal Varma’s flick D released four years later after his debut. Today, this actor has given several hits and is well-known in the industry for his impeccable talent in acting.

2. Boman Irani

Irani had a polytechnic degree and worked as a waiter in the Taj. He had to quit his job and returned to his mother to run their bakery. Boman Irani also tried his hand in photography and learned theatrical acting from 1981-1983 before he made an entry into the industry, with a role in the horror movie Darna Mana Hai.

3. Rajkummar Rao

Rajkummar Rao belongs to Haryana and was passionate about acting from quite an early age. He began working in the theater right from his college days and has finished his graduation from FTI. He made his debut with the experimental movie Love Sex Aur Dhokha in 2010. His acting skills rose to prominence with the movie Shahid for which he was conferred with the National award and Filmfare critics’ best actor award.

4. Manoj Bajpayee

This Indian actor was born in Bihar and has worked in Hindi, and Tamil, Telugu movie industries as well. He is the recipient of India’s fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution to the art of cinema and acting. After several attempts and rejections, Bajpayee’s claim to fame rose in 1998 after Ram Gopal Varma’s crime drama Satya.

5. Kangana Ranaut

The bold-spirited Kangana Ranaut is from Himachal Pradesh. From a girl who aspired to be a doctor to becoming an actress, her journey has been phenomenal. She gave her first hit with the movie Gangster and now she directs her movies herself.

6. Nawazuddin Siddiqui

The actor belongs to a small town of Muzzafarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh. He worked as a chemist in a petrochemical company before moving to Delhi to pursue his career in acting. After several minor roles in numerous movies, he was praised for his performances in the movies Patang and Black Friday.

7. John Abraham

John Abraham, a successful actor and a successful model carries the genes of a Malayalee father and an Iranian mother. He made his debut with the movie Jism and has been a part of several hits like Dhoom, Dostana, Madras Café. He has also produced distinct movies like Vicky Donor.

8. Deepika Padukone

Being the daughter of Prakash Padukone, Deepika was a successful national-level badminton player. Later, she switched to modeling and made her debut starring opposite to Shah Rukh Khan in the movie Om Shanti Om in the year 2007. Her success as one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry speaks volumes of her talent and skills.

9. Anushka Sharma

An army brat, born in Ayodhya brought up in Bangalore, Anushka Sharma was signed up initially as a model and later debuted starring opposite to Shah Rukh Khan in the movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. She is one of the highest-paid actresses and a promising producer in the industry today.

10. Priyanka Chopra

Another army kid, with a Punjabi father and mother belonging to Jharkhand, Priyanka Chopra had her interest set in becoming a criminal psychologist or a software engineer. She had pursued her higher education in the US. Things changed for her when she was signed up for Femina Miss India competition and went on to win “Miss World” which ultimately landed her up with many movies offers in the industry.

11. Akshay Kumar

He is the son of an army officer, a black belt in Taekwondo, and worked as a chef and waiter in Bangkok while learning Muay Thai. He debuted in the industry with the movie Deerdar and has been conferred with Padma Shri in 2009 and 2 National awards- 2017, 2019.

12. Shah Rukh Khan

One of the biggest names in Bollywood and globally, Shah Rukh Khan is a self-made man who debuted in Bollywood with the movie Deewana and has stayed on the top ever since!

13. Sushant Singh Rajput

The 34-year-old actor had won millions of hearts as Manav of Balaji’s daily soap
opera. The AIEEE 7TH rank holder actor successfully converted himself from the small-screen hero to the silver screen super-star with movies like Kai Po Che, Chhichhore and Kedarnath. The actor was a brilliant dancer and an independent thinker. He left his fans, family, well-wishers in shock and tears after his demise on 14th June 2020.

14. Irrfan Khan

Irrfan Khan is one of the finest talents Bollywood has ever witnessed. Even British films and Hollywood have witnessed the brilliance of this actor. In his career span of 30 years, he has been conferred the National award, Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution to art. He fought bravely with a rare neuroendocrine disorder for two years and passed away on 29th April 2020 on account of a colon infection.

15. Pankaj Tripathi

Pankaj Tripathi was born in a small town of Bihar and his father was a farmer. He started his carrier from zero and today he is one of the best actors in industry. Pankaj is known for his excellence in acting and portraying even the most difficult roles with ease.