From Anushka Shetty to Allu Arjun, what actors did to earn a living before they entered films

Actors who are now famous earned their bread and butter with different careers before they started acting. While most celebrities were models before they became actors, some of them were professional swimmers, yoga instructors etc.

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Bengaluru, First Published Sep 6, 2020, 11:21 AM IST | Last Updated Sep 6, 2020, 11:21 AM IST

Allu Arjun

This famous Tollywood star was once an animator before he entered the film industry. The actor’s dream was to make it big in the animation industry but due to its nascent stage in India, he decided to enter films in order to make more money.

Ajith

This may come as a shock but Ajith was once a big fan of racing. He even took up racing cars so that he could fuel his dream to be a racer in India. However, fate had other plans for him.

Anushka Shetty

The Baahubali star was a yoga instructor before she had her big debut with Naga Chaitanya in 2005. Since then, she’s stayed in the cinema but performs yoga regularly.

Trisha

Trisha wanted to be a clinical psychologist but ditched that dream and pursued modelling instead. She was once crowned Miss Chennai and went on to make Kollywood her home.

Madhavan

When Madhavan entered films, he was regarded as the cute guy with dimples. Prior to this, he was a model and appeared in several ads. In fact, he auditioned for the lead role in Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar but was ultimately rejected because his eyes seemed “too young.”

John Abraham

He tried his luck at modelling but gave that up to earn more money. He went on to become a media planner at Enterprises Nexus.

Nayanthara

Nayanthara was very content being a model and even turned down an offer by director Sathyan Anthikkad to play a lead role in his film, Manassinakkare. It was only after a lot of convincing that she agreed to do “just one film.”