Bees Saal Baad: How stars who started out in 2003 have fared

By Rajiv Vijayakar -

March 11, 2023 - 1:01 PM IST

Shahid Kapoor, who made his debut on April 10, 2003 with Ishq Vishq, made a start all over again with his web debut in Farzi. The actor is in top spirits as he plays a daredevil counterfeiter in the Raj & DK series. He had a chequered career of ups and downs after his lead debut, with a series of flops and some also-rans (36 China Town, Chup Chup Ke) and hits like Jab We Met and Vivah. He was also appreciated as actor for his dual role in Kaminey and his performances in Udta Punjab and Haider.

Bees Saal Baad: How stars who started out in 2003 have fared

But it was almost 15 years after he began that he got a massive hit in Padmaavat and a year later, his first solo blockbuster, Kabir Singh. Always one to mix the mainstream with the mid-stream kind of cinema, Shahid now made a new beginning with Farzi.

20 years is a long time in today’s competitive era and arena and here’s deconstructing the careers of the other names that also began their journeys in the same new face-rich year as him.

Bhumika Chawla / Tere Naam

Well-begun in Hindi seemed half-done for this actor, when she debuted in Hindi opposite Salman Khan in his musical hit, Tere Naam after doing two shorts, two TV serials and then 10 South films. The Punjabi-born actress, however, could not maintain her stardom in Hindi though her dream run down South continued. She has appeared as a character artiste in Neeraj Pandey’s M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) and Operation Romeo (2022).

Celina Jaitly / Janasheen

Among the many Miss India winners to join cinema, Celina Jaitly also shared a military parentage with Bhumika (and many other actresses) and started out with Feroz Khan’s Janasheen. She also did Suniel Shetty’s home production Khel and Anil Kapoor’s home banner’s No Entry, her biggest hit. Her only other success was Apna Sapna Money Money, the emsemble-cast Subhash Ghai caper comedy. Living overseas now in domestic bliss with her husband and three sons, she briefly appeared as the protagonist in the acclaimed mother-daughter short feature, Season’s Greetings (2020).

Emraan Hashmi / Footpath

After his flop debut, Emraan stole the show in the super-hit Murder alongside Mallika Sherawat. A mixed lot of films from uncles Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt, which included the hits Gangster, Zeher, Kalyug, Jannat, Raaz - The Mystery Continues and Murder 2, followed. Soon, it was time to break out of the home fold, and Emraan had the commercial clout now, with a certain reckless or maverick image. The outside films Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and The Dirty Picture further raised his stock, but then came debacle after debacle despite some good performances, and finally the TV series, Bard of Blood, co-produced by Shah Rukh Khan.

Today, Emraan is seen more as an actor than a star, and so has meaty roles as the wronged fan in Selfiee and the antagonist in Tiger 3.

Genelia D’Souza Deshmukh / Tujhe Meri Kasam

Her cute debut success, coincidentally opposite future husband Riteish Deshmukh, was followed by another bigger one in Masti, also opposite him. Among her subsequent films, however, only Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na (2008) proved a blockbuster but with its focus on Imran Khan and Prateik Babbar.

Happily, Genelia, who married in 2012 and has two sons now, is still known for hits in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam and has just made her Marathi debut in her own production, Ved, a blockbuster that co-stars and is directed by her husband. Her last Hindi film was Mister Mummy last year.

John Abraham / Jism

He had beginner’s luck in both capacities (as producer with Vicky Donor and as actor with Jism). But the affable actor has had a mixed innings despite commercial and acting triumphs like Dhoom, Garam Masala, Taxi No. 9-2-1-1, Kabul Express, Dostana, New York, Housefull 2, Race 2, Madras Café, Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran and Satyameva Jayate.

Prone to be easily convinced about stepping into wrong movies both as actor and producer, John, after a calamitous 2022 (Ek Tha Villain Returns, Attack—Part 1), has begun this year with the whopper Pathaan as villain. Oops! In today’s times, he should be called a lead antagonist!

Katrina Kaif / Boom

It is not every day that an actress of non-Indian origin becomes a huge star. Katrina Kaif has achieved that unprecedented position, despite even beginning her career with the Hinglish disaster, Boom. A lot of her success is attributed to her past relationship with Salman Khan and her films with him, but that is not being fair to her, because her excellent percentage of hits is easily thanks to her sagacity to choose the right films. Doing movies with almost every big-name actor and many big filmmakers, Katrina, now Mrs. Vicky Kaushal, is also evolving as an actress and remains a major force, with prize assignments in Tiger 3 and Sriram Raghavan’s Merry Christmas.

Lara Dutta / Andaaz

This Miss Universe did not have a great run as a star, though she scored in Masti, No Entry, Partner and as the obsessive business ace in her home production, Chalo Dilli. She was brilliant in her hilarious role in Singh Is Bliing, and in a gray turn in Azhar and has excelled in her web shows, Hundred and Hiccups and Hookups besides Kaun Banegi Shikharwati last year. Versatility is her USP and it is up to filmmakers now to exploit her ‘Universe’-al talent!

Priyanka Chopra Jonas / The Hero & Andaaz

What a beginner’s luck she had! Miss Wolrd began her film career with a Tamil super-hit, Thamizhan, while her first signed Hindi film, a mediocre potboiler, could finally be released only a decade later. Her first Hindi releases were The Hero—Love Story of a Spy, followed by the hit, Andaaz. A sizzling and award-winning negative turn in Aitraaz (2004) proved her passport to big-time. And then came over a decade more of big films and great performances. She then turned Westwards, first with a music single and then with TV serials and movies, mostly blockbusters, Back home, she ventured successfully into multi-language productions. Now married to American singer-actor, Nick Jonas, the world is her oyster today as she traverses Hollywood and Indian cinema as none have.

Riteish Deshmukh / Tujhe Meri Kasam

Give him any role—serious, comic or negative—and the man can do it. Riteish Deshmukh knows that his forte is starring in the ensemble cast of Hindi movies and going solo in Marathi films. His debut Marathi directorial, Ved, is doing record business (as 2022’s last release) and his Hindi innings continue with small solo OTT comic leads (Babli Bouncer, Plan A Plan B, Mister Mummy) as he awaits other big-screen assignments like Visfot.

Tanishaa Mukerji / Ssshhhh…

Kajol’s younger sister, for a multitude of reasons, could never reach those starry heights, and even did a couple of regional films. Content in her space, she has last been seen in the small 2021 film, Code Naam Abdul, as a RAW agent.