Top 5 Bollywood actors who made it without a Godfather in recent times

Getting into showbiz without a godfather is a herculean task,let alone surviving for decades. But there are some who have managed to make a mark on their own and some who went onto rule the industry. Lets have a look at the list of actors who made it. 5. Raj Kumar Rao [wp_lightbox_prettyPhoto_image link="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Raj-Kumar-Rao.jpg" description="" source="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Raj-Kumar-Rao.jpg" title=""] From making his debut with the 2010 experimental film Love Sex aur Dhokha to winning National award in 2014 for Shahid, Raj Kumar Rao has surely proven his mettle. During his struggling years he used to teach dance to kids from his locality to support his aspirations. The FTII product got his first break in 2010 when he was cast in Love Sex aur Dhokha, after responding to an ad that mentioned Dibakar Banerjee was looking for newcomer.He then went on to play significant roles in Shaitan, Gangs of Wasseypur, Kai Po Che, Talaash, Queen and Shahid for which he won the National award. Judging by his work so far, it is safe to predict that we can expect many more powerhouse performances from him. 4. Nawazuddin Siddiqui [wp_lightbox_prettyPhoto_image link="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Nawazuddin-Siddiqui.jpg" description="" source="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Nawazuddin-Siddiqui.jpg" title=""] It would be an understatement to call Nawazuddin Siddiqui 'The Find of the Decade' as far as Bollywood is concerned. This immensely talented actor had received a personal invitation from the world renowned critic late Roger Ebert himself to attend his annual film festival-Eberst. A feat not even the most successful Bollywood actors can boast of. From working as a watchman during his struggling days to playing small roles in Shool,Sarfarosh,Munna Bhai MBBS etc to playing Faisal Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur and becoming one of the most loved actors in the country,Nawaz has come a long way. We can only expect him to deliver many more memorable performances in future. 3. Irrfan Khan [wp_lightbox_prettyPhoto_image link="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Irrfan-Khan.jpg" description="" source="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Irrfan-Khan.jpg" title=""] One of the most memorable Irrfan Khan moments for the fans are his acts in the commercials of cellular network provider Hutch. It is really unfortunate that the industry which has an actor like Irrfan Khan has failed to use his talent. Where many not-so-talented actors get roles because of their influence in the industry, there are actors like Irrfan who are ignored. He is respected more in Hollywood than in India. At the beginning of his career Irrfan acted in many television series for Doordarshan. His first break came when he played the title role in the critically acclaimed Maqbool, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. In 2004 he won the Filmfare Best Villain Award for his role in film Haasil. Critics praised his performance in Haasil, saying that "as the ambitious, brash, fearless goon who is mind-blowing. He is outright scary and makes you sit up, wondering what he'll do next". In 2007, he appeared in the box office hits Metro, for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, and The Namesake. He has enjoyed his share of sucess in Hollywood. Appearing in films like-Slumdog Millionaire, New York,I Love You, The Amazing Spiderman and Life of Pi. From thinking of becoming an AC mechanic to winning a well deserved National Award he received for Paan Singh Tomar in 2012, Irrfan has come a long way. 2. Akshay Kumar [wp_lightbox_prettyPhoto_image link="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Akshay-Kumar.jpg" description="" source="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Akshay-Kumar.jpg" title=""] It is a well known fact that Akshay worked as a chef and waiter in Bangkok. During the time when Bollywood movies meant hero chasing heroine in beautiful valleys of Switzerland, there was a certain newcomer who made his mark by doing raw action movies.This taekwondo black-belt started his career as the lead actor opposite Raakhee and Shantipriya in Saugandh though he had appeared in the uncredited role of a martial arts instructor in the 1987 Mahesh Bhatt-directed and Kumar Gaurav starrer, Aaj.The following year he announced his arrival with Abbas Mustan-directed suspense thriller, Khiladi, which is widely considered as his breakthrough role. After a string of unsucessful films he starred in Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Rajiv Rai-directed Mohra which were among the highest grossing films of the year. His personal life was one of the juiciest topics for gossip magazines in 1990's. He apparently dated Ravina Tandon, Shilpa Shetty before tying the knot with Twinkle Khanna. This Action-Jackson showed his talent of playing comic roles in 2000, starring in the Priyadarshan-directed comedy Hera Pheri alongside Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty. The film became a commercial success and proved to be a turning point in Akki's career. The later half of the first decade of 2000's was Akki's golden phase. He enjoyed a string of highly successful films and his pairing opposite Katrina Kaif was loved by the fans. But like all good stories end, Akki's golden run at box office was cut short by some disastrous movies. The last few years have had their share of ups and downs but no matter what, Khiladi Kumar has his cult fan following. 1. Shahrukh Khan [wp_lightbox_prettyPhoto_image link="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Shahrukh-Khan.jpg" description="" source="https://filmymantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Shahrukh-Khan.jpg" title=""] Who else could have topped this list other than the Baadshah himself. He kick-started his glorious career with television series Fauji in 1989. He played the leading role of Abhimanyu Rai, which earned him much recognition. This led to further appearances in Aziz Mirza's television series Circus and Mani Kaul's miniseries Idiot.King Khan's appearances in these serials led critics to compare his look and acting style with those of film actor Dilip Kumar, but he was not interested in film acting at the time. Two weeks after his mother's death in April 1991, Khan changed his decision to not act in films; he moved from Delhi to Mumbai to pursue a full-time career in Bollywood, and was quickly signed to do four films. His first film offer was for Hema Malini's directorial debut Dil Aashna Hai,and by June 1991, he had started his first shooting. However, production delays meant that his second film Deewana, in which he starred alongside Divya Bharti as the second male lead behind Rishi Kapoor, was released first in June 1992. It went onto become a commercial success and SRK received Filmfare for Best Male Debut and launched him into Bollywood.His initial film roles saw him play characters who displayed high levels of energy and enthusiasm. Among his 1993 releases, Khan garnered the most appreciation for portraying negative roles: an obsessive lover, and a murderer in the box office hits Darr and Baazigar respectively. Darr marked the first of Khan's many collaborations with filmmaker Yash Chopra and his company Yash Raj Films. Khan's stammering and the use of the phrase, "I love you, K-k-k-Kiran," were popular with audiences.For Darr he received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role, also known as the Best Villain Award. What makes the feat even more special is the fact that many a yesteryear superstars like Dilip Kumar and Rajesh Khanna tried to play the 'Anti-Hero' in their prime but were not received positively by the audience. It was SRK who broke the jinx. In 1995 SRK played Raj Malhotra in DDLJ. It transformed SRK from 'the next big thing' to 'The Superstar'. He then went on to teach a whole generation of nation the meaning of the word romance. In 2007 he went on to play Kabir Khan in Chak de India which is considered by many to be his best performance till date. Filmfare included this performance in their 2010 issue of the "Top 80 Iconic Performances. From being ridiculed as 'the one who looks like a bear' to become the global face of Bollywood. King Khan's life has come a full circle.

5. Raj Kumar Rao

Murtaza Rangwala

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