12 Bollywood Celebrities And Their First Job Before Getting Their First Break

The lives of our Bollywood stars are not really how they show in movies. Not every actor was born with a dream to become an actor. In fact, many of them never had Bollywood even in the back of their mind. Most of them were living a different and ordinary life altogether before entering Bollywood. Some even had entirely different and ambitious goals for themselves.

However, fate took a turn and they became actors. Surprisingly, some of the Bollywood actors realised that they want to go for acting when they were already earning a living in some other field. They took a leap of faith in their lives and decided to ditch their high paying jobs or businesses to follow their dreams in Bollywood.

In this article, you will be surprised to know what your favourite Bollywood stars were doing before they entered the film industry.

1. Ranveer Singh- Copywriter in advertising agency

Ranveer Singh became a household names right after his debut film Band Baaja Baaraat. However, the actor didn’t harbour Bollywood dreams right from the beginning itself. In fact, he was worked at advertising agencies like Ogilvy and Mather and J. Walter Thompson as a copywriter before entering Bollywood. Imaging, if Ranveer kept working as a copywriter and never forayed into Bollywood!

2. Akshay Kumar- Chef and waiter

Akshay Kumar never dreamt of becoming an actor in first place, let alone Bollywood actor. The now popular actor used to be a chef and waiter in a Bangkok-based restaurant. He is also a black belt in Taekwondo and studied Martial Arts in Bangkok. Akshay made a decision to return to his homeland to become a Martial Arts teacher. However, fate took him to a different direction altogether.

3. Amitabh Bachchan- Radio Jockey and freight broker

The now megastar wanted to become a Radio Jockey with Doordarshan. However, he was rejected because the channel didn’t like his voice. He later joined Shaw Wallace, a shipping firm as an executive. He even worked as a freight broker for a shipping company called Bird and Co.

4. Parineeti Chopra- Marketing and public relation

Parineeti Chopra, who is now an established actress in Bollywood wanted to become an investment banker in London. For the uninitiated, she is a triple degree holder in Business Finance and Economics from Manchester Business School. But she had to return India due to lack of jobs in the UK and worked at Yash Raj Films as an intern in their marketing and public relations team.

5. Nawazuddin Siddiqui– Chemist and watchman

The maverick of Indian cinema struggled quite a lot before making big in Bollywood. To support his family of 8 siblings, he took a job as a chemist. He moved to Delhi where he found himself drawn towards theatre. After working as a watchman for 2 years, Nawazuddin enrolled in National School of Drama.

6. Bhumi Pednekar- Assistant to casting director

Bhumi Pednekar was an assistant to casting director Shanoo Sharma before making a debut with Dum Laga Ke Haisha, which was bankrolled by Yash Raj Films.

7. Ayushmann Khurrana– Radio Jockey

The hit machine of Bollywood started with a reality show MTV Roadies. He worked as a Radio Jockey with Big FM in Delhi and then later joined MTV as a VJ. He is a graduate in English Literature and Master in Mass Communication from Punjab University.

8. John Abraham– Media planner

John Abraham worked as a media planner for Enterprises Nexus. He tried his luck in modelling and did quite well in it. In 2003, he got a major breakthrough in Bollywood with an erotic thriller film Jism opposite Bipasha Basu.

9. R. Madhavan– Public speaker

The RHTDM heartthrob was a trainer in public speaking and personality development before carving a niche for himself in Bollywood as well as South film industry.

10. Arshad Warsi- Salesman

Arshad Warsi did small jobs to make ends meet before he entered Bollywood. He was a door-to-door cosmetic salesman and also worked in a photo lab. He joined Sami’s dance group to realise his passion in dancing. His career in Bollywood began as a choreographer and not an actor!

11. Boman Irani- Waiter and room service attendant

Boman Irani had his fair share of struggle before making big in Bollywood. He worked as a waiter and room service attendant at Taj Mahal Hotel before getting a break in the industry. He also helped his mother in running their ancestral bakery shop in Mumbai.

12. Sonakshi Sinha- Costume designer

Sonakshi Sinha began her career in Bollywood as a costume designer in 2005. Being a graduate in fashion designing, this was all she had in her mind. However, later, she was chosen to play the female lead in Salman Khan starrer Dabangg.