12 Bollywood Stars Who Make The Best Out Of Their Terrible Starts

Not all superstars are off to a good start in their career. On the contrary, many of them had a hard time before rising into the stardom of Bollywood. Here are a few of the most inspiring stories about Bollywood stars who went through difficulties to carve their own path in the industry.

1. Shah Rukh Khan

Talking about his first day in Mumbai, the "King of Bollywood" admitted that he had "no money to eat" and sleep on the road for days. He and his friend had to use the washroom of Oberoi hotel pretending like they were staying in the hotel.

2. Akshay Kumar

While searching for work, Akshay Kumar had a short stint as a photographer assistant. As it was an unpaid job, he had to sell everything from clothes to flats to make extra money.

3. Dev Anand

Before being widely known as the legend of Bollywood, Dev Anand worked as a clerk in an accountancy firm from which he earned only Rs 85 per day.

4. Dharmendra

Despite winning a talent hunt, Dharmendra had to deal with financial struggle and hardships for quite a time before making a move with Bandini. There were several days that he had to sleep on an empty stomach. On an occasion, a producer denied paying for his taxi fare which got him upset. It was Shashi Kapoor who took him home and offer him lunch.

5. Amitabh Bachchan

It has never been an easy start for the megastar as he used to sleep on a bench in Mumbai and being rejected for not just one time.

6. Madhuri Dixit

One of the most popular actresses in the ‘90s, Madhuri Dixit used to face numerous negative criticism as a beginner. The reigning star Meenakshi Sheshadri even said that it was possible for Mads to be successful in the industry.

7. Asha Bhosle

The veteran singer Asha Bhosle earned Rs 100 for her first song, which she spent on batata wada. In the 1950s, she even went to work by train every morning.

8. Zeenat Aman

As all of her first films flopped, Zeenat Aman was about to give it all up and get back to Germany. Fortunately, her last hope Hare Krishna' (1972) happened to be her turning point. In fact, there was another actress who was selected as the lead role but stepped down in the last minutes. And Zeenat was the alternative.

9. Govinda

The actor was rejected by Rajshri Studio as he was ‘too young’. Instead of giving up, the actor proved his acting and dancing skill with a short video and showed it to the producer.

10. Johnny Lever

Johnny Lever started his career being a member of Kalyanji-Anandji's group but he rarely got any works. With a musical instrument, Lever and Kalyanji-Anandji started producing music with the new instrument and made Rs 1,000-1500 per month.

11. Shahid Kapoor

Before having his own house, Shahid Kapoor’s family used to live in rental flats which meant they had to move from one to another constantly. It was a night when the whole family wasn’t in town but they had to empty the flat one day in advance so that the actor had to spend his whole night in a car.

12. Mahendra Kapoor

As a young man who was searching for a job, Mahendra Kapoor met filmmaker H S Rawail on a random train. The fortune smiled on him as he was able to get a job at the Famous Studio at Tardeo, Mumbai and was introduced to the hero of 'Patanga' Shyam. It was a once in a lifetime chance which turned him into one of the most prominent singers in Hindi cinema.