Dharmendra – Was born in Nasrali, a village in Ludhiana in Punjab district, and his ancestral village is Dangon near Pakhowal in Ludhiana. Nicknamed the “He-Man of Bollywood, Dharmendra made his debut in 1960 with the film Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere and gained popularity over the years. Dharmendra achieved a great stardom spanning over six decades. A dream to habe such career
Bollywood’s Next Big Thing: Small-Town Talent
Guru Dutt – Vasanth Kumar Shivshankar Padukone, later changed his name to Guru Dutt, was born in Karwar in Karnataka in a Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin Family. He was first hired by Dev Anand under the Navketan films for Baazi in 1951, which marked Dutt’s directorial debut. Star
Manoj Kumar was born in Abbottabad, a small town in North West Frontier Province during British India, now called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He made his debut in Hindi films with Fashion in 1957, followed by unforgettable roles thereafter in numerous films.
Rajesh Khanna – Was born as Jatin Khanna in a Khatri family in Amritsar in 1942, Punjab Province of British India. His family moved from Lahore to Mumbai. He made his debut with the film Aakhri Khat in 1966, a film directed by Chetan Anand and Raaz followed in 1967, and thereafter he attained stardom over a decade, going on to be the first superstar of Hindi cinema.
Dev Anand – Was born in the Shakargarh Tehsil of Guradaspur District in Punjab during British India. Inspired by Ashok Kumar’s acting in the films, he got his first break with Prabhat Films for the film Hum Ek Hain in 1946, paired opposite Kamala Kotnis. While shooting for the film in Pune, he met Actor Gurdutt.
Balraj Sahni – He was born in Rawalpindi, Punjab of British India. He made a name for himself in films and made his debut with the film Insaaf in 1946.
Pran – Pran acted in 22 films in Lahore before moving to Mumbai, where he worked in the 1948 film that launched Dev Anand’s career as a hero and cemented Pran’s own career as a premier villain in Hindi cinema.
Dream Big, Achieve Bigger: Small-Town Stars in Bollywood
Hema Malini – She was born in a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family in Ammankudi in Madras province, now called Chennai. Hema Malini was chosen to play the lead opposite Raj Kapoor in “Sapno Ka Saudagar” in 1968, later starring in many films and establishing herself as a top heroine, earning the title “Dream Girl. An always shining star a dream
Helen – Helen was born in Rangoon, Burma, now called Myanmar, in an Anglo- Indian Family. During the Japanese occupation of Burma, the family, after her father died during World War II, trekked to Dibrugarh in Assam. In Mumbai, she got her major break in 158 when she performed on the song Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu for the Shakti Samantha film Howrah Bridge. After that, offers started pouring in between the years 1960 and 1970.
Making it Big: Small-Town Success Stories in Bollywood
Raj Babbar – was from Tundla in Uttar Pradesh . The Punjabi family was well settled since the partition. After his training in New Delhi, Raj Babbar moved to Mumbai to start a film career with Reena Roy and gained popularity in a negative role of a rapist in Insaf Ka Tarazu in which he assaults Padmini Kolhapure and her sister Zeenat Aman. He did many films there after and also joined politics.
Jaya Pradha is from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. A Telugu-speaking actress who mostly did Telugu films. In 1979, she made her debut with the film Sargam opposite Rishi Kapoor. The film’s songs were a super hit, and she became a popular actress overnight after its release.
Sridevi was born in a village called Meenampati near Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. Sridevi made her debut in the film Solva Sawan in 1979. She went on to be one of the top stars of the Hindi cinema, her films were highest highest-grossing films, and she established herself in Bollywood. A tale of dream
Ayushmann Khurana was born in Chandigarh in Punjab and made his debut in 2012 in Shoojit Sircar’s romantic comedy film Vicky Donor. Made him a star, showed him the dream.
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