A lean figure is something we all desire, and when we look at some Bollywood celebs, we tend to think they had it easy. Well, not always. Some stars had to work their asses off to tone down to look fab. Let us look at a few.

Alia Bhatt

This sexy chic was not always slender like in the movie ‘Student Of The Year’. She had to go on a weight loss spree to get rid of the excess weight. She lost an enormous 16 kilos before facing cameras for the movie! Quite an inspiration!

Sonam Kapoor

Even Anil Kapoor’s daughter did not get everything on a platter. She had to work out a lot to get the slim figure she enjoys today. She had to lose 30 kilos to slim down from her initial weight of whopping 90 kilos!

Adnan Sami

Singer Adnan Sami once needed a wheelchair to move around because his weight, at an unbelievable 230 kilos, was too much. That very man burned around 150 kilos to look fit and fab!

Parineeti Chopra

Having a cousin like Priyanka Chopra in the industry was motivation enough for Parineeti to try. However, she had to lose considerable amount of weight to get into the industry. Parineeti went from chubby to chic in about ten months of a strict diet, yet she was criticised for being shapeless. For months she was adamant that wouldn’t want to lose any more weight, but after constant criticism she finally gave in and restarted her weight loss regime.

Arjun Kapoor

Arjun initially looked nothing like the star he is today and his weight loss story was indeed a life transformation. He is now rated as one of the hottest Bollywood actors in the industry!

Kareena Kapoor

The actress who made size zero a trend in India wasn’t always slim! In fact, for her item number in ‘Don’ (2006), she was criticised for her inability to maintain her figure following which she took up the challenge and transformed!

Zarine Khan

This chubby actress lost weight before entering into the Bollywood circuit. She lost so much weight that Salman Khan even asked her to put on some weight for one of her movies!

Sonakshi Sinha:

Our very own Rajjo, Sonakshi Sinha never thought she can be an actress. She was quite on a heavier side and was planning to pursue her career in Fashion Designing. However, Salman Khan told the 90kgs Sonakshi to lose weight and enter Bollywood. She lost around 30 kilos in 2 years and became a perfect heroine to star opposite Salman in the film ‘Dabangg’.

Jackky Bhagnani:

Well, his six-pack-abs were the talk of the town when he made his debut in the film ‘Kal Kissne Dekha’. But, not many know that it took 2 years for Jackky to get that body. The actor was around 130kgs before he thought of making his acting debut.

Karan Johar:

Karan Johar is surely a great filmmaker, but if you would have seen him few years ago, you wouldn’t have recognized him. He was fat and weighed 120kgs. However, he decided to lose weight and you can see what he is right now.

So, most Bollywood celebrities live lavish lives that we all dream of, but did you know, not all of them started at the top? Many of these stars have worked their way to the top by starting off with day jobs just like all of us.

(Also read – Bollywood celebrities who went under the knife)

Zeenat Aman

Zeenat was one of Bollywood’s sex symbols in the 70’s and 80’s. She was a journalist for a magazine before she shifted her focus to a career in modelling, within which she flourished and rose to the top.

Amrish Puri

The super-villain of Indian cinema Amrish Puri was a part of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) before superstardom.

(Try reading – Bollywood celebs who went from flab to fab)

Raaj Kumar

Raaj Kumar was a Sub-Inspector in Mumbai police before becoming one of the most stylish actors in Bollywood.

Smita Patil

Smita worked as a Doordarshan television newscaster in the 70’s. She then entered the film industry and turned out to be a legend.

Ashok Kumar

He was a lab assistant in Himanshu Rai’s studio, and became an actor by accident. Wouldn’t you love to be in an accident like this?

Sunil Dutt

Sunil Dutt was a popular radio announcer on the legendary radio station, Radio Ceylon.

R Madhavan

This south superstar who impressed one and all with his role in ‘3 Idiots’ was a very good orator, and he started a small business, conducting workshops on communication and public speaking.

Sunny Leone

Everyone knows Sunny for her adult film industry background, but just a handful know that she worked in a German bakery and later in a tax and retirement firm. Academically, Sunny was studying to become a nurse.

Boman Irani

Boman worked as a waiter and a room service staff at a leading five-star hotel. Later, he even helped his mother at their ancestral bakery in South Mumbai.

(You may find this interesting – Bollywood superstars who are chain smokers)

Jacqueline Fernandez

This beauty queen was a television reporter in Sri Lanka before contesting and winning a beauty pageant and later entering Bollywood.

John Abraham

John worked at a famous ad agency in Mumbai as a media planner where he was offered a proposal to become a model.

Rajinikanth

This South superstar hails from a humble background and had to do various jobs to support his family. He worked as a coolie, a carpenter and later a bus conductor before becoming the superstar he is today.

(Also read – Bollywood celebrities who changed their names)

Akshay Kumar

The daredevil of Bollywood was formerly a chef and waiter in Hong Kong. He was, however, a black belt in Taekwondo and soon returned to Mumbai to teach martial arts. Who knew he would end up in Bollywood back then!

Johnny Lever

The king of Indian comedy Johnny Lever hails from a humble background and had to quit school to support his family. He started by selling pens on the streets. Later he joined Hindustan Lever, where his talent of mimicry was appreciated, following which he took off to Bollywood and stuck with the stage name – Johnny Lever.