The Indian film industry or Bollywood is a dream place to work for budding actors. While it takes a lot of patience and luck to survive in the industry, most other times, it’s hard to live up to the glitz and glamour.
There have been times when Bollywood celebs decided to break or almost quit acting during this journey for various reasons.
1. Shah Rukh Khan
The King of Bollywood once decided to quit acting because he thought he looked ugly (ugh, please see yourself through our eyes SRK).
When I saw myself for the first time on screen, this was for the rushes. Rushes are dailies. You shoot the scenes and you see the negatives. That was the time when we had negatives. So, I was looking at Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman rushes in RK Studio. And I realised I am so ugly.
2. Katrina Kaif
Katrina Kaif almost decided to quit after watching her film Namastey London. She thought the movie was so bad that it may end her career.
When I saw the film, I was terrified. I just saw too much of me in the film, and you start believing what people say. I was like, ‘No, no, no, people can’t see me in a film, they won’t watch the film, it’s a disaster. This is over, my life is over.’ I was like, ‘I am packing my bags, and I am going to find a new career’.
3. Aamir Khan
Aamir decided to quit acting during the COVID-19 lockdown. He felt it was too much for him, and he should spend time with his family now.
No, I quit. Nobody knows this. I’m saying for the first time, you will be shocked. I had informed my family that I won’t be doing any films from now onwards. Neither I’ll act nor I will produce any films. I don’t want to do all this. Then I thought I should tell people that I won’t be acting in films now. Then I said if I tell people they will say, ‘This is his marketing scheme as his film Laal Singh Chaddha is about to release, he is announcing his retirement. A lot happened in two years, I quit the industry and came back.
4. Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan had made up his mind to quit Bollywood. He spoke about how he felt disappointed about his work during the initial days.
At one point in time, I felt it was my mistake that I came into the industry as whatsoever I was trying, it was not working. I went to my dad and said maybe I am not made for this industry.
It was Amitabh’s advice that helped him gain his confidence back.
I never brought you up to be a quitter. Every morning you have to wake up and fight for your place under the sun. As an actor, you are improving with every film.
5. Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik rose to fame after his debut in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai. But the actor had given up on Bollywood once owing to his knee injury. He spoke about the alternative career options he would take up and said:
I worked on Kites only for seven months. Before that, I was trying to treat my knee. For six months there was no sign of recovering from my knee pain. At that time I thought either I will turn to singing or directing a film.
6. Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa started her career as a model before she stepped into Bollywood. The actor revealed how she felt rejected even after doing good films. But, today, Shilpa is a judge on reality shows and she has some new projects lined up.
I did not feel people were accepting me as an actor. Maybe I wasn’t that good actor. Even after doing films like Phir Milenge and Dhadkan, I never got an award. I felt rejected and bad.
7. Nargis Fakhri
Nargis Fakhri decided to step back from Bollywood for some time. In her recent interview, she talked about why she was on a long break from the glitz and glamour of Bollywood.
Somewhere down the line, I realised that I was overworked and stressed. I missed my family and friends. I remember that 2016-2017 was a period of realisation for me. I felt that I wasn’t doing things that made me happy. I did films back-to-back and thought there was just too much happening, and I needed to stop. I felt the need to pause to balance my mind and body. And that’s when I took the step.
Read more: From Priyanka To SRK, 7 Times Bollywood Celebs Gave Some Meaningful Career Advice.
