As revealed in the last few days, Bollywood is a much more difficult turf for newcomers than we actually thought. An industry that functions through kinships and politics, talented actors without a godfather find it extremely tough to set their footing in Mumbai.
Amidst this, a few actors without any background have come to the industry and made a mark with their exceptional skills. In this article, we would be discussing 15 such gifted actors:
Shahrukh Khan
Probably the best example of an actor standing in the industry only because of his talent, Shahrukh Khan has established a kingdom of his own in Bollywood. Though he is in bad form right now, we all know that it is just one movie that needs to turn the tide.
Akshay Kumar
A minimum guarantee actor at the box-office, Akshay Kumar is highly relied upon to deliver diverse movies consistently. He is also known for his humanitarian activities aside from his profession. Coming to his upcoming projects, Sooryavanshi, which was due for a release during lockdown, could be the first big Bollywood film to release after theaters reopen.
Boman Irani
One of the best supporting actors that Bollywood has ever produced, movies such as Munna Bhai MBBS and 3 Idiots would not have been the same without Boman Irani. His achievement is exceptional, considering he came to the industry without a filmy background. Boman started his career by working as a waiter in the Taj
Irrfan Khan
The man who changed the concept of acting in India, Irrfan Khan will be remembered for his massive contribution to the movie industry in the country. Having acted in Hollywood too, Irffan has been conferred with the prestigious National Award and Padma Shri too.
Manoj Bajpayee
Almost falling into the same category of Irrfan, Manoj has a separate fan-base for his unique performances and bold characters. Having made his presence felt in the movie ‘Sathya’, Manoj, since then has acted in various industries across the country. He is successful in the web space too, with the extremely popular Amazon series ‘The Family Man’.
Priyanka Chopra
An international star now, despite her getting trolled very often, Priyanka Chopra’s rise is something very few other Bollywood actresses have seen. Not only Bollywood, but even the Hollywood audience wait for her movies now. With projects in both Bollywood and Hollywood, Priyanka’s stardom is not going to fade away any soon.
Deepika Padukone
Although her father is very popular, at the end of the day, Prakash Padukone is from the sports background. In her career, unlike the star-kids, Deepika got movies only because of her acting talent. The fact that she is one of the highest paid actresses in Bollywood speaks volumes of her skill-set.
Anushka Sharma
A highly respected figure in the society, from nowhere to become a popular actress and a successful producer, it has to be noted that Anushka landed in Mumbai without any connections. Apart from acting with almost every big hero in the town, Anushka also owns the distinction of producing one of the most popular Indian web-series in recent times.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
The lead hero of the first successful web-series in India, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a busy actor at the moment. Considering even he came from without a godfather, his achievements have been exemplary. He is also the few ones who has changed the notion of ‘good looks’ necessary for a lead actor in the industry.
John Abraham
John had to struggle in the beginning of the career but at the moment, he owns a section of audience who adore him, and wait very eagerly for his movies. John Abraham is also now a happening producer in the industry.
Kangana Ranaut
The flag-bearer of the anti-nepotism campaign in the industry, Kangana Ranaut has taken on the biggies of the industry throughout her career. Even she came into Bollywood without any connections. Having given a hit with the movie ‘Gangster’, Kangana then went on to feature in successful movies such as ‘Queen’ and ‘Tanu Weds Manu’.
Rajkummar Rao
A rising actor who is delivering quality movies, Rajkummar Rao had to feature in small roles before lapping up the big projects in the industry. His rise to popularity started with the movie ‘Shahid’, for which he was conferred with the National Award. Rajkummar now has some interesting projects lined up, including the sequel to ‘Stree’.
Sushant Singh Rajput
Sushant Singh Rajput is one of the very few actors who attained stardom very quickly, despite being from a non-filmy background. Last Sunday, we lost the actor who died by suicide. Having given us many memorable movies, we surely will miss him in the upcoming years.
Randeep Hooda
The ‘Extraction’ actor is a well-known face in the industry. For a biz. that is dominated by star-kids and their connections, Randeep managed to stick apart with his sensible acting skills. He had actually started a career in sales before the passion for acting pulled him towards Bollywood.
Pankaj Tripathi
A regular feature in top web-series being produced in India, Pankaj Tripathi had to suffice with multiple small roles before filmmakers started to see the innate talent in him. With respect to his background, Pankaj’s dad was a farmer, and hence, he had to face many obstacles before making it big in Bollywood.
