Siddharth Malhotra who makes his debut in Karan Johar's 'Student of The Year' is an import from the modelling industry. Director Punit Malhotra's brother and famous Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra's nephew, Siddharth started out as a part-time model as it paid well.
Having worked with Karan Johar on 'My Name is Khan', as an assistant director, Malhotra makes his acting debut with Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan.
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The newest face that has been creating a stir in the industry is that of Diana Penty. A model first, Penty has walked the ramp for Italian designer Trussadi along with Wendell Rodricks, Rohit Bal and Rina Dhaka.
She will be now seen in the upcoming film 'Cocktail' where she would be sharing screen space with Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone.
Her rivalry with Deepika is believed to have been started from her modelling days when she replaced Dippy as the brand ambassador of a leading cosmetic brand, Maybelline.
But she’s not the only coat hanger to have turned to showbiz. We look at other models who went the B-town way...
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Before she became the world's most beautiful woman, Aishwarya was a successful model. Her first assignment came when she was in the ninth grade for Camlin pencils and since then, there was no looking back.
This former beauty queen has modelled for Coca-Cola, Longines watches, Lakme, Lux and many other brands before she won Miss World and took the plunge into acting.
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Former top model Arjun Rampal's shift to cinema was bound to happen. His dashing good looks were surely 'hero' material and soon he made his Bollywood debut with 'Pyaar Ishk aur Mohabbat'.
Unfortunately, his stone-faced expressions did nothing to help him in motion pictures, until 'Rock On!' happened and he managed to bag a national award for his performance.
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Prakash Padukone's daughter surprisingly chose to drop the badminton racquet to enter the world of modelling.
Having posed for jewellery products, cosmetic brands and watches, among others, this damsel was also spotted in a music video with Himesh Reshammiya.
Dippy moved on to Bollywood when director Farah Khan cast her opposite Shah Rukh Khan in 'Om Shanti Om'. The rest, as they say, is history and this former model is one of the top actresses of the industry now.
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One of the best looking men in the country, Milind Soman made women swoon with his Grecian good looks in advertisements for a host of brands (Who can forget that ad for Tuff shoes?).
He also appeared in singer Alisha’s hit song 'Made in India' where his hot body nearly took away all the attention from the singer.
His stint in Bollywood has been forgettable though, having acted in films like 'Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula', 'Bheja Fry' and 'Jodi Beakers'.
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The original ‘Jism’ girl was one of the country’s top models before she joined the Bollywood brigade.
Before her debut opposite Akshay Kumar in 'Ajnabee', Basu was a successful model and had won a few modelling competitions and had even appeared in a Sonu Nigam pop song video.
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John Abraham won the Gladrags Manhunt Contest and his modelling assignments kept him busy before the acting bug bit.
He made his film debut in the 2003 hit 'Jism' with Bipasha Basu. He showed off his mod bod to its best advantage in 'Dostana', where he nearly bared his butt in tiny yellow swimming trunks.
He recently turned producer with the film, 'Vicky Donor'
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Former Miss Universe Lara Dutta was a top model before she made her debut with the film 'Andaaz'. Lara was the winner of the annual Gladrags competition after which she got better modelling assignments.
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Anushka Sharma, who made a dream debut opposite the Badshaah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, in Aditya Chopra's 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', became a household name with her portrayal of Shruti Kakkar in 'Band Baaja Baaraat'.
But this hottie started her career like many others, in the modelling business. She has walked the ramp for Wendell Rodricks and done many commercials on TV before making her mark in B-town.
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This hottie was a supermodel before he got film offers and made his debut opposite Rinky Khanna in 'Pyaar Mein Kabhie Kabhie'. Despite his supermodel status and amazing good looks, Dino has been largely part of flops.
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First spotted in a pen advertisement with Amitabh Bachchan, Genelia received a lot of praise for her spontaneity. She made her debut opposite her now-husband, Riteish Deshmukh in the film, 'Tujhe Meri Kasam'.
She has acted in a lot of Telugu and Kannada films apart from Bollywood. She tasted success with films like 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na' and 'Masti'.
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The tall and muscular Upen Patel was a drool-worthy supermodel, until he decided to try his hand at movies. After winning a supermodel contest organised by a leading television channel, Upen got a lot of endorsements like Provogue and Tommy Hilfiger.
He tried his hand at acting with films like '36 China Town' and 'Namaste London', but he miserably failed to hold our attention! His stint with cinema is now thankfully limited to just cameos.
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Recently voted as the world's sexiest woman by a leading magazine, Bollywood superstar Katrina Kaif has also followed the much-trodden path of being a model to enter the world of cinema.
Kaif is said to have started modelling at the age of 14 in London. She was spotted by director Kaizad Gustad at a show and she landed a spot in his film, 'Boom'.
Since then, Katrina has risen to the rank of A-listers with hit movies like 'Namaste London', ‘Welcome’ and 'Rajneeti'.
