10 Bollywood Stars Who Began Their Careers as TV Actors

5. Sushant Singh Rajput

What happens when a television sweetheart joins films? There is no right answer to the question but in Sushant’s case, magic happened. The credit for his success goes to his unbridled passion for acting and giving his best to whatever work he takes on, even if it means taking time off to hone his skills. As the lead in the popular daily soap ‘Pavitra Rishta’ he was at the top of the world but he decided to quit the show midway and moved on to films as it was not challenging him as an actor. He made a successful film debut with ‘Kai Po Che!’ and carried over his success to his second film ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’. His bid to dominate Bollywood with ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!’ fell flat on his face despite getting favourable reviews for his work. However he got another chance to prove his box office standing with ‘M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story’ and this time around he not only got it right at the box office but also earned a special place in people’s heart for playing the national sporting icon on the big screen.

4. R. Madhavan

His journey in the tinsel town seems to be straight out of a text book. He started out as a model and then tried his luck in films. On failing to get himself a film role he shifted gears to television, where he did quite well for himself, appearing in popular shows like ‘Aarohan’, ‘Saaya’ and ‘Sea Hawks’. However his dream of being a movie star kept bugging him and after a series of unsuccessful attempts he finally made his mark as a film actor in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Alaipayuthey’. In a very short span of time he went on to become a major star in the South Indian film scene. Bollywood came calling next with ‘Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Main’ which is a remake of his Tamil film ‘Minnale’. The film enjoys cult status today among the youths. He is one of the very few actors to finely balance an acting career both in the North and the South.

3. Vidya Balan

We saw her in numerous ads and music videos even before she made her Hindi film debut. She first came into the limelight with the hugely popular sitcom ‘Hum Paanch’ on Zee TV. The real struggle started post the initial bout of recognition. Her calculated attempts to get into films down South met with crude rejections and unsavoury criticisms. She herself once admitted in an interview that she was called ugly and was labelled a jinx. The sun finally shined on her when she was cast as the lead in ‘Parineeta’ by a first time director Pradeep Sarkar. And then there was no looking back.

2. Irrfan Khan

Mr. Khan’s tales of struggling days are legendary. Acting is not a just a profession for him, it’s his necessity. His rise to the top is simply the result of his patience to wait for the right opportunity and choosing the roles that complements his unpredictable personality. He is arguably the only Indian actor who wooed the best of Hollywood filmmakers only by the virtue of his talent rather than the doings of an over ambitious PR machinery. He started out on the small screen with shows like ‘Shrikant’ and ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’ and last year his career came full circle with the Netflix acclaimed drama ‘Tokyo Trial’.

1. Shah Rukh Khan

He needs no introduction whatsoever. He is the one who made making the transition from TV to films a raging trend. His TV shows were so popular that he regularly made the pages of glossy magazines as an actor to watch out for. Initially he was reluctant to join films. Can you believe it? He decided to come to Mumbai to escape from a personal tragedy and landed himself a couple of film roles. What happened next is the stuff dreams are made of. If you Google ‘the biggest movie star in the world’, Shah Rukh’s name pops up immediately and justifiably so. Not only have his movies are enjoyed by a global audience but his debut television series ‘Fauji’ is also equally loved by his diehard fans.