20 Models who Made it Big on Silver Screen

New Delhi: Some of the talented and dashing youths who have made it big on silver screen are not from theatre background as many would presume but belong to the world of catwalks, photoshoots and advertising. You guessed it right, the world of  Moeling. Modeling surely gives a Bollywood aspirant exposure to the world of glamour, beauty, self-awareness and a little bit of acting besides recognition.

Here is lowdown on few such model turned actors.

 1.   Anushka Sharma: Anushka came to Mumbai to pursue a career in Modeling. She had got an assignment to work with renowned fashion designer Wendell Rodricks before that.   

2.   Arjun Rampal: Arjun had already made a good fan following through his effervescent presence in the modeling world before launching himself in the world of acting. 

3.   Aishwarya Rai: She was already a popular face as a model and winner of Miss India World before getting roles in the movies.

4.   Dino Moreo: He came second in Gladrags Manhunt contest to make a name for himself in the modeling world. He got to work in the modeling field before dabbling into the world of cinema.

5.   Deepika Padukone: While many would know about her father the veteran badminton player Prakash Padukone and that she was  a national level badminton player before she made entry into bollywood, here it needs mention that Deepika left a promising career as sportsperson to try hands in modeling. She got few good assignments as well and went on to become Model of the year at Kingfisher Fashion Awards.

6.   Esha Gupta: She became Femina Miss India International and got exposure to International pageants  before becoming an actress.

7.   Gul Panag: She won Miss India title in 1999. By this time, she was already into Modeling and made appearances in various audio-visual and print advertisements.

8.   Juhi Chawla: Actress, Producer and Entrepreneur Juhi Chwala shot into limelight after she won Miss India Contest in 1984. Soon after was offered role in the legendary blockbuster Qayamat se Qamayat tak opposite debutant Amir Khan.

9.   John Abraham: John won the Gladrags Manhunt award to shot into limelight. Films followed him.

10. Katrina Kaif: She has been modeling since the very young age of 14. She was spotted by a film director at a fashion show in London. And that is how she made entry into the tinsel world

11. Lara Dutta: Lara Dutta has got to her credit a number of pageant titles such as Gladrags Megamodel India, Miss International Pageant, Femina Miss India and the most noticeable Miss Universe 2000 ending a drought of 15 years after Sushmita Sen clinched Miss Universe title in 1995.

12.   Milind Soman: He continues to feature in commercial advertisements. Once leading model, he became a heartthrob of Indians across the country by making his presence so much felt in the video album featuring the popular song, Made in India.

13.  Priyanka Chopra: She first became Femina  Miss India World and then clinched the title Miss World in the global round. Like another Femina Miss India Universe turned Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, she got the offers to work in bollywood which she gladly accepted.

14. Priety Zinta: She won Miss Shimla beauty pageant and had featured in the popular Liril Soap advertisement before she attracted attention of Bollywood filmmakers and went on to become one of the leading actresses.

15. Randeed Hooda: A successful model who had made his name in all the existing  forms of modeling be it print, ramp and audio-visual, Randeep too got few good offers from Bollywood to prove his acting prowess.

16. Salman Khan: Did u know the current heartthrob Salman Khan had appeared in an advertisement which promoted a soft drink at the age of 15? Kailash Surendranath the renowned ad maker had made it.

17. Siddarth Malhotra: He dabbled into the modeling world at the age of 18 years. He got to work in Bollywood later.

18. Sushmita Sen: Femina Miss India Universe Sushmita Sen gave a pleasant surprise to her countrymen by winning Miss Universe title so convincingly in 1995. Her fame landed in her kitty offers from the tinsel .

19. Bipasha Basu: Bipasha had won Ford Supermodel contest before she was offered first assignment in Bollywood.

20. Zeenat Aman: She shot into limelight by clinching the title of Miss India in 1970 and then went on to become Miss India Asia Pacific. She also won the title of Miss Photogenic.