Before They Were Stars: Bollywood Edition

It's always a delight to see photos of celebrities before they shot to stardom. It makes the fact that they're normal human beings just like us even more believable. 

A while back, I posted a compilation of childhood pics (embarrassing yearbook photos included!) of Hollywood's hottest stars. And since I'm a huge fan of Bollywood too, I thought why not create a similar post especially for B-town celebs? So I took the liberty of Googling and saving some old photos of today's most talked-about Bollywood actors, and here are what I found:

Shraddha Kapoor
The Aashiqui 2 stunner wasn't always as flawless as she looks now, but
admit it, she's always had that infectious smile! Catch her next month 
in the Disney 3-D dance flick ABCD2 with Varun Dhawan!

Shahid Kapoor
Judging by the photo, looks like Shahid was quite a naughty boy back in
the day! Well, the Haider actor grew up to charm millions of hearts across
the globe. Too bad, he's off the market. Word is, he'll be tying the knot
with fiancée Mira Rajput in June!

Alia Bhatt
Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks? Alia has some of the cutest
baby photos on the web that I couldn't resist sharing two more with you! 

Ranveer Singh
Seems like the Gunday star was born to be in front of the camera! But
before joining the roster of Bollywood's hottest actors, did you know that
he completed a degree in Creative Writing?

Parineeti Chopra
Doesn't the photo on the left remind you of her avatar Meeta in Hasee Toh
Phasee? The ever smart and sassy Pari hadn't always seen herself becoming
an actor. She actually eyed a career in investment banking! Whuuut?

Sidharth Malhotra
The Ek Villain stud said in an interview with Zoom that he enjoyed an
active childhood, spending most of his days playing outdoors. He soon
took interest in sports like basketball and rugby. In his upcoming movie
Brothers, an official remake of the 2011 Hollywood drama film Warrior,
Sid will be exhibiting his skill in mixed martial arts.

Yami Gautam
Being part of thought-provoking movies like Vicky Donor and Badlapur, 
Yami Gautam is proving that she's on her way towards becoming one of 
Bollywood's hottest leading ladies.

Varun Dhawan
It's pretty hard to imagine that someone who played such a dark role in
Badlapur was once an innocent little cutie pie, who's nicknamed "Pappu". 
Raise your hand if you can't wait to see Varun showcase his stellar
dance moves in ABCD2!
*raises both hands*

♥Andz

7 Times Sidharth Malhotra Proved His Hotness

Sidharth Malhotra is undeniably one of the hottest rising stars in the glitzy world of Bollywood. And as he celebrates his 30th birthday today, allow me to take my fangirl feels to the next level by listing down the seven times he got us all swooning over him.

Sid as hot nerd Abhimanyu Singh in Student of the Year

1. When his debut movie scene was a musical sequence about how handsome he is, because - well - he just is!

2. When he made you thirsty - like, parched-dehydrated thirsty - in all his shirtless glory.

***His well-built physique made him the first man to be featured twice on the cover of Men's Health India.

Left: 22-year-old Sid on the February 2007 cover of Men's Health India
Right: Seven years later (April 2014), Sid graced the magazine's cover once again looking more
buff with the flair of a true B-Town star.

3. When he tried playing the role of a bad guy but ended up looking  evilishly adorable instead.

With "Ek Villain" co-star Shraddha Kapoor

4. When he seemed effortlessly suave in his GQ India photo shoot.

Check out these behind the scenes clips!

***Before hitting it big in Bollywood, Sidharth Malhotra has done modelling jobs.

5. When he revealed that he loves doodling and drawing cartoons during his free time. 

6. When he showed off his sometimes-cool-sometimes-awkward dance moves in Hasee Toh Phasee.


***Yeah, shake it like Shammi!

7. When he urged his fans to practise animal birth control as part of PeTA's campaign to end animal homelessness. 

***He has a boxer named Oscar to keep him company in his Mumbai home. (OK, I'm honestly not a dog lover - I'm actually super scared of them - but how would I even bother freaking out over a dog when Sid's around? Haha!)

***

Happy birthday, Sidharth MalHOTra! 

Never stop being awesome!

♥Andz


***NOTE: I do not own any of the photos used in this post.

Saturday ♥

Yesterday was my kind of Saturday.

I couldn't remember the last time I enjoyed the start of a weekend. I reckon that I've always been piled with school and org work ever since the second semester kicked off early last November. Yesterday, however, was different. Yesterday was simply about pure fun, and fun means no doing of homework, no reviewing, nothing school-related at all - just yummy food, some friends, and a good movie... like Talaash: The Answer Lies Within.

Yes, Talaash - the latest film of Mr. Perfectionist Aamir Khan.

You wouldn't guess how thrilled I was when I found out that it will be releasing in the country shortly after its premiere in India, which was on the 30th of November this year. 

I was literally hyperventilating, as I held the entertainment section of the paper last Wednesday morning. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing - a full-fledged Bollywood movie to be shown in Philippine cinemas. Right then and there, I just knew that I had to see it with none other than my equally Bollyood-crazed friends Vinz and Kai.

We took the afternoon screening, and we had the theatre to ourselves! Well, there were about two other people in the cinema, but we didn't care at all! We loudly discussed about the how the film might turn out, screamed and shouted when we felt the need to, and just sat on the edge of our seats as the suspense of the story intensified.

Now, I wouldn't tell you about how the story went, and it's not just because of the spoilers I would possibly spill, but it's the request of Mr. Perfectionist himself. So I would just say that Aamir Khan and the Bollywood film industry continues to blow me away with their exciting plots, good music, and unpredictable twists.

I also love how some of India's social issues were integrated in the film, just like many of Aamir's previous projects. As the story progressed, "we had a counting game of the social issues that were presented in Talaash and we were able to identify police brutality, leakage of investigation procedures, dawdling process of police cases, blackmailing, prostitution, and infidelity" - as Vinz puts it. 

Bollywood movies may not be as popular as any other foreign films in the country, such as the Chinese's, the Koreans' or the Thais', but I really do think that Filipinos should give it a chance, as the realities exposed in their movies are very much similar to that of what we have here in our country, making Bollywood film settings and characters highly relatable to Filipino movie-goers, which is why I am beyond ecstatic and grateful that SM Cinemas have decided to widen their selection of films to their patrons, by adding Bollywood films to their exclusives.

Talaash will be in SM Cinemas all over the Metro until this week only, so be sure to catch it!

♥Andz