By Kavita Shyam.
Actors have already proved their mettle on screen, that they can act and dance around the trees. Acting is their passion, but the profession doesn’t guarantee long-term stability. For some actors having a career option to fall back on might have been a necessity, for many others it has been starting a venture for the lark. Bollywood and Tollywood has been struck by the entrepreneurial bug for quite some time, but what started as a trickle years ago has now turned into a flood.
Of late, we have seen many actors donning the hat of a producer or having stakes in cricket teams, salons, spas, restaurants, retail chains et al. We take a look at some of the actors who have taken the plunge into something beyond the arc lights and emerged winners (sometimes)! Thanks to their business minds and correct investment agendas, many actors have been laughing their way to the banks. Let’s take a look at their life beyond the acting!
Shahrukh Khan apart from being a superstar also owns a production house. Well, he needn’t have a side career option but these are ways to perhaps keep himself up in the market as a successful businessman as well. From television shows to movies, the production house churns out a host of things to keep the star no less than a busy bee. This is not all, the king khan also has stakes in IPL alongside Juhi Chawla to keep him pre-occupied. He also has stake in Kidzania family entertainment centre.
So is the case with Aamir Khan who produces movies year after year with thought provoking campaigns in tow, is surely a smart entrepreneur who invests his money on the right movies and actors. While for the other Khan, Salman with his brothers has his cards well placed and piggybacking on his different movies year after year. He also has Being Human to bank on, which is a chain of stores in the country. His sister-in-law Malaika Arora Khan, styles a clothing line The Closet Label.
Moving on to Saif Ali Khan, well the Nawab too produces movies amidst acting, being the perfect hubby to his Bebo and living life king-size. Akshay Kumar has smart investors to co-produce movies. Akshay chooses his actors, co-producers and film scripts carefully and from the look of it has been proving lucky. His wife Twinkle Khanna chucked acting, embraced motherhood and that apart she has a hit candle store, a home décor store and is a columnist besides being the author of Mrs. Funny Bones.
Hrithik Roshan has a host of buildings given on rent to media production houses. Hrithik Roshan is also putting together a casual wear line for myntra.com called HRX. Sunil Shetty owns a chain of gyms across the country, a couple of restaurants, boutiques, real estate projects, production house and co-owns an NGO. He has stakes in Hakim Alim’s salons as well. Ajay Devgan is mostly seen acting in his own productions; this actor brings out a host of movies each year to stay in the rat-race. Ajay has also invested in 25 MW Solar Power Plant in Gujarat.
The women in the industry are no less of entrepreneurs. Shilpa Shetty Kundra has stakes in IPL, has opened spas across the country besides her fitness DVD and TV shows. Restaurant, jewellery brand and real estate ventures keep the Shilpa and her husband Raj Kundra completely packed. Another beauty queen turned actress- Lara Dutta is setting up designer shoe line, launched a sari collection alongside her fitness DVD, needless to mention her first movie release fetched her a fortune. Bipasha Basu also almost followed suit after a host of actresses launched their fitness DVD, she came up with hers last year. Bipasha gives personal touch to a line of smart accessories on e-commerce portal The Trunk Label which is doing quite well.
Sushmita Sen owns a jewellery house in Dubai besides the Miss Universe India franchise, alongside producing a film or two under Tantra entertainment. The pretty damsel, Preity Zinta bought IPL team with her ex beau and got into production last year. Poonam Dhillon has a vanity van service which she has been successfully handling for over a decade now.
Another beauty queen turned actress Priyanka Chopra still has a roaring career to bank on, however she came up recently with her music video which she shot in LA, besides medical/cosmetic clinics which her mother looks after (her mother is a doctor by profession).
Anushka Sharma jumped into the bandwagon of production, and perhaps is the youngest to produce the movie NH10.
Newbie Tapsee Pannu has started a wedding company, well a wise cookie indeed!
Given the tough competition and the business ventures, our Bollywood actors are certainly turning out to be business savvy entrepreneurs or risk takers.
