10 Actors Who Struggled, Conquered And Inspired The World With Their Glorious Journeys

When life gave them lemons, they made the sweetest lemonade. Who decides the course of the actual journey of aspiring actors amidst the negativity around outsider and insider debate?

The nepotism debate is as tricky as it sounds but Sushant's death has ruffled way too many features in the Indian film industry.

It's often said that outsiders are deprived of equal opportunities, but then we also have instances of people who, despite the weird ways of the industry, stuck around, worked hard, and didn't give up.

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These actors didn't just stick around, but they shuffled between odd jobs, grabbed every opportunity that came their way, and chose to be determined to make it big in the industry.

These actors prove that hard work can earn you everything you have ever aspired for in your life! Read on.

1. Pankaj Tripathi

Pankaj Tirpathi/Instagram

-Used to work in a hotel kitchen at night and do theatre in the morning

-He chose Delhi- based National School of Drama (NSD), where the essential requirement for enrolment was graduation.

-In college, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP's campus wing, and was jailed for a week to participate in a student's movement.

-After finishing his course at NSD in 2004, he made his way to Mumbai on October 16 with Rs 46,000 in his pocket. He once recollected how by December 25, he had only Rs 10 left with him.

-After eight years of juggling between minor roles, his life changed with 'Gangs of Wasseypur.'

2. Vikrant Massey

Instagram/Vikrant

-Massey, a trained ballet dancer, worked with Shiamak Davar and acted as a choreographer on his show Dhoom Machaao Dhoom.

-Vikrant made his debut on television with Kahaan Hoo Main in 2004. He ventured into Television and did daily soaps such as Dharam Veer, Balika Vadhu, Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo, and Qubool Hai. He played the role of Shyam Madan Singh in the television show Balika Vadhu on Colors TV.

3. Randeep Hooda

Instagram/Randeep Hooda

-After completing his schooling, Hooda moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1995. He studied for a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's degree in business management and human resource management.

During that period, he worked in a Chinese restaurant, a car wash, as a waiter, and as a taxi driver for two years.

-In 2000, Hooda returned to India and worked in the marketing department of an airline.

-He subsequently started modeling and working in amateur theater in Delhi.

While rehearsing for the play To Teach His Own, director Mira Nair approached Hooda to audition for a role in her upcoming film.

-After his grand debut in Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding (2001), he thought his life was set. In 2014, he said, "After that, I assumed that I had to only stand in front of the camera and people would flock to the theatres to watch me," he says.

-However, life is not a wish-granting factory, and he spent the next four years jobless.

4. Rajkummar Rao

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-Rao comes from a very humble middle-class background. Once, he recollected the time in school when he didn't have money, and his teachers paid his school fees for two years.

-Recollecting his initial days in Mumbai, he once said, ※When I came to the city, we were living in a tiny house. I was paying Rs 7000 of my share, which I thought was too much. I needed around 15-20000 every month to survive, and there were times I would get a notification that I had only 18 rupees left in my account. My friend would have 23 rupees."

-He enrolled himself in FTII. ※We used to borrow money. And other times, we would go to their houses and share their meal sometimes. I didn't have enough money even to buy proper T-shirts. A friend of mine - Vinod - who's also an actor, and we used to travel for auditions on our bikes. I knew nothing about the presentation - of how to look, what to wear. With the pollution around us, we would get down and clean others' faces with rose water and think that it's the best version of ourselves."

-He confessed that he never had a plan B. He would constantly be on the hunt for auditions and meet ADs & casting directors. He once said, ※They would call me in for small roles & I＊d try to convince them to let me audition for the bigger parts每I was turned down. But I wasn＊t demotivated. I persistently followed up with Atul Mongia till he finally called me to audition for Love Sex Aur Dhokha. A week went by & I hadn＊t heard back每that＊s when I questioned, ＆Will they call?＊ Then it happened...everything I worked for culminated in that one moment. I was at home when I got the most important call of my life. The words were, ＆Ho gaya, and you got the film!＊ I fell to my knees, cried & called my mom."

5. Kirti Kulhari

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-She started her career with theatre and TV commercials. She also did a one-month acting workshop in a Hindi theatre group called Yatri.

-She worked on three plays after that 每 Chinta Chod Chintamani with Yatri group, Shehenshah of Azeemo with AK Various productions, and a Hindi adaptation of Sakharaam Binder with Yatri group.

-With back to back endorsements, she became the face of television commercials 每 Lotus Mutual Funds, Travel Guru, Videocon Air Conditioners, Parachute Gorgeous Hamesha Campaign, ICICI Bank, Kaya Skin Clinic, Taj Mahal Tea (along with Indian actor Saif Ali Khan), Everyuth Face Wash, Whirlpool Refrigerators (along with Indian actors Ajay Devgn and Kajol), Spice Mobile, Virgin Mobiles (along with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor), Close-up, JK White Cement and Tic Tac mouth freshener. For two years, Kulhari was the face of beauty brand Nivea Visage Sparkling Glow's face.

-She was also a part of music videos 每 "Hik Vich Jaan" in Desi Rockstar 2 album by Gippy Grewal, "Junoon" by singer Abhijeet Sawant and "Mitran Di Chatri" by Babbu Maan.

6. Sayani Gupta

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-She had plans of enrolling at the National School of Drama in Delhi but ditched the plan and instead danced for 14 hours a day for LSR＊s dance society. While hanging out at Mandi house, she made friends with thespians Habib Tanvir and MK Raina. She also launched her own professional theatre company.

-A graduate from the Film and Television Institute of India, she made her debut in 2012 in Second Marriage Dot Com.

-Sayani once revealed that she was contacted over Facebook by Yash Raj Films' casting team after they failed to reach out to her over her mobile phone and felt she was quite "lucky."

-She said, "The (YRF) team was trying to get in touch with me on my old number. They then finally wrote to me on Facebook," Sayani said. "When I auditioned for 'Fan,' I was not aware it would have Shah Rukh Khan in it. After auditioning for two months, I got a call from Shanoo Sharma (of YRF) that I had been selected. That's when they told me about the film and SRK playing the lead. It just hit me.§

7. Sanjay Mishra

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-He once revealed that he flunked Class X twice, and his father was very tense about his future

-He enrolled in the National School of Drama.

-Talking about his initial days, he once said, ※When I came to Mumbai in 1991, you had to either be a comedian or a villain or a hero. People couldn＊t place me in any of these categories. (Director) Tigmanshu Dhulia, my NSD batchmate, offered me a television serial. Between 1991 and 1999, I tried my hand at everything -- from lighting to art direction to camerawork. I also did photography and earned some money. I lived on vada pav. If I missed home, I would go to Andheri (north Mumbai suburb, home to many television and film actors) station, where the Delhi-bound Rajdhani train would pass, and cry (Mishra＊s parents were living in Delhi at the time).§

-During the cricket World Cup series in 1999, Mishra＊s Apple Singh commercials for ESPN Star Sports became so popular that the character was adopted as the face of the channel.

8. Boman Irani

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-He waited tables at the Hotel Taj Mahal- after school, Boman would work as a waiter at the legendary Taj in Colaba. However, after two years, he gave up, realizing that he was meant to achieve more in life.

-Due to a situational crisis, he had to take over the family wafer shop and run the business. But since he craved creative satisfaction, he kept trying his hand at writing during his spare hours.

-After 14 years of shop-keeping, he turned to photography. His passion for photography landed him good photographic assignments, including sports photography.

-Boman realized his acting dream and reached a step closer when choreographer Shiamak Davar introduced him to theatre legend Alyque Padamsee, his mentor and guru.

-His first play didn't earn him praises, but it was his second play, I＊m Not Bajirao, that led him to his 'big' Bollywood break.

9. Arshad Warsi

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-Arshad Warsi belonged to a well-to-do family while he was growing up, but at 14, he lost his father.

-His entire life turned upside down, and even though his father had left the family with a lot of property, he had to sell off everything for his mother's treatment.

-The family was pushed to a life of misery and bare minimum, which also meant having salt and rice as a meal.

-After dropping out of school, Arshad had to resort to odd jobs to sustain himself, his mother, and his brother.

-He worked at a photo lab and developed films, and photographs, using chemicals. He even sold cosmetics in buses, plying in and around Bandra for some time. He worked as a door-to-door salesman.

-His Bollywood journey began as a background dancer in the late 1980s. At the age of 21, he stood 4th in the 1992 World Dance Championship in London. He used his prize money to start his dance academy in Mumbai.

-Significant filmmakers often picked up his students.

-Not many know that he was credited for choreographing several dance sequences in Bollywood.

-In 1996, he got his first break as an actor in a film called Tere Mere Sapne because of Jaya Bachchan.

10. Johny Lever

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- Johnny Lever, whose real name is John Rao Prakash Rao Janumala, was brought up in the narrow lanes of Dharavi, Mumbai.

-His father worked as an operator in Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and what he earned was too meager to sustain the family that had Johnny along with three sisters and two brothers.

-Because of the money crunch, Johnny dropped out of school at the age of Class 7 and took up odd jobs.

-He sold pens, danced on the streets of Mumbai, and also mimicked Bollywood actors to earn daily bread and butter for him and his family.

-His talent took him places as he quit his job in 1981 after six long years and started working as a full-time comic.

-He did stand-up comedy shows in orchestras and took up the opportunity to join the Kalyanji-Anandji group. He was finally known for his talent both nationally and internationally.

-Johnny got his first break in the industry with Tum Par Hum Qurban. While shooting for the film, actor-director Sunil Dutt was in awe of his talent and offered him a role in his movie, ＆Dard Ka Rishta＊ in 1982.