The film industry is flooded with fresh faces who travel from lands far away with wide-eyed dreams of making it in Bollywood. But the truth of the matter is that an actor’s career graph is non-linear and completely unpredictable. There are a few one-hit wonders, while others have earned success after struggling for years altogether. So keeping your options open in such a volatile industry is a great idea. We’ve rounded up a list of stars who quit their acting career to pursue greener pastures elsewhere. How many did you know about?
1. Twinkle Khanna
Source: Instagram
Being the daughter of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia, Twinkle was *meant* to join Bollywood at some point. She made her acting debut in 1995 with the movie Barsaat, and went on to act in a bunch of films including Badshaah, Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan and Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega. However, owing to the lacklustre success of her career, she quit acting after she got married to Akshay Kumar in 2001. Now popularly known as Mrs Funnybones, she has a thriving career as an author, newspaper columnist, film producer, and interior designer.
2. Mayoori Kango
Source: Facebook
This actress might not be a known face anymore, but she previously starred in popular movies including Papa Kehte Hain, Betaabi, Hogi Pyaar Ki Jeet, Badal and Papa the Great. While she started her Bollywood career in 1995 with the National Award-winning film, Naseem and even starred in TV shows, she later decided to leave behind the glitz and glamour of the industry. After getting married to NRI Aditya Dhillon in December 2003 she shifted to the United States and pursued an MBA in marketing and finance. She now lives in Gurgaon, and has joined Google India as its Industry Head – Agency Business!
3. Dino Morea
Source: Instagram
Dino started his career as a model and later branched into Bollywood with his film Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi, which failed to create a buzz on the box office. Soon after, though, his career took off and he acted in several successful films including Raaz and Jism 2. However, his career later seemed to fizzle out and although he has made a couple of appearances in movies in the past few years, he now owns and runs restaurants across Mumbai.
4. Shilpa Shetty
Source: Instagram
Now known as Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Shilpa’s career began as a model when she was a teenager. After appearing in several television commercials, she made her acting debut with the 1993 thriller, Baazigar. She appeared in several blockbusters after, including Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Jaanwar, Dhadkan and Life in a…Metro. She shot to international fame after she won British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother 5. She married businessman Raj Kundra in 2009, and now co-owns an IPL team with him, besides being a reality show judge, an animal rights activist and a yoga guru.
5. Kumar Gaurav
Source: Wikipedia
Son of late actor Rajendra Kumar, Kumar Gaurav was an immensely popular Bollywood actor who made his debut with the movie Love Story in 1981 and went on to star in blockbusters including Teri Kasam, Naam and Kaante. The last movie he appeared in was in 2006, called My Daddy Strongest, and he hasn’t been active as an actor since. He is married to Sanjay Dutt’s sister Namrata Dutt, and currently owns a travel business in the Maldives.
6. Preity Zinta
Source: Instagram
This dimpled beauty made her acting debut with Dil Se and won over the hearts of the industry. She was a very prominent face in the 2000s and appeared in several blockbusters including Dil Chahta Hai, Veer-Zaara, Koi… Mil Gaya, Salaam Namaste and of course, the iconic Kal Ho Naa Ho, for which she received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 2003. Preity was later bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and she is now the co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kings XI Punjab since 2008, and the owner of the South-African T20 Global League cricket team Stellenbosch Kings since 2017. Besides that, she also owns a production house, PZNZ Media, and has written several newspaper and magazine columns. Owing to her success as a businesswoman, her acting career has been on a hiatus but let’s hope she makes a comeback on the silver screen soon!
7. Soha Ali Khan
Source: Instagram
This real-life princess is the sister of actor Saif Ali Khan and daughter of Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Although Soha is *highly* educated—Soha has a degree in modern history from Balliol College, Oxford and a Masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Being from a filmi family, she made her foray into Bollywood in the 2004 film Dil Maange More and later went on to star in Rang De Basanti, Khoya Khoya Chand and 99. She seems to have taken a break from acting after getting married to actor Kunal Khemu in 2015. She has since written a book called The Perils of Being Moderately Famous.
POPxo is now available in six languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bangla.
AWESOME NEWS! POPxo SHOP is now Open! Get 25% off on all the super fun mugs, phone covers, cushions, laptop sleeves, and more! Use coupon code POPXOFIRST. Online shopping for women never looked better!
