9 Bollywood Celebs Who Came Up A Long Way From TV Commercials

Bollywood celebs and the advertising world have a long standing relationship which was built long ago after television came to India in the early 60s. Many establish the endorsement empire after they make it big in the B town but there are a few who taste the waters as early as a teenager and then go on to become a movie star. It is a creamy business which keeps both the brand and the ambassador in the limelight. Many ads prove to be career reviving for some of the actors who may have been struggling off late. It brings them to the eyes of the public and gives them the much needed PR push as well as the financial cushion. Many film directors, Rajkumar Hirani and Anurag Kashyap to name a few, are sometime associated with the big guns like Coca-Cola. Even stalwarts like A.R. Rahaman have composed ad jingles in their initial years. Following is the list of nine such Bollywood celebs who appeared in TV commercials before finally endorsing the silver screen.

Salman Khan in Limca Ad

Way before Maine Pyar Kiya was released, the Bhaijaan made an entry in a not so Dabangg manner on our TV sets telling us Limca was the thing we needed to quench our thirst. It was Salman’s younger version who looked cute as a button and wooed the audiences into gulping down Limca. When Maine Pyar Kiya hit the screens, Salman was a rage and it catapulted Limca sales automatically.

Preity Zinta in Perk Ad

Perk has been there in the Indian market since many, many years, courtesy some well known and popular commercials they come up with now and again. You must have noticed the cute and bubbly Alia Bhatt in the recent commercial munching down Perk with a friend by the road until she comes up with a prank. Well, before Alia it was Preity on whose cuteness quotient Perk relied and together they came up with a few ads which featured Preity in her usual self- fun loving and mischievous. This was 1994. She even appeared in a Liril ad which was in 1997 before making it big in Bollywood.

Shahid Kapoor in Pepsi Ad

This was early or mid 90s. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai had released and Kajol, Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherji were a rage as a trio, especially among GenX. Pepsi, being the wise marketing strategy maker they are capitalized on this popularity in the nick of time and Shahid who was a teenager back then had this chance to rub shoulders with these stars and he did make his presence felt in this fun ad. Shahid then went on to become a fine actor and the star that he is today but his first exposure to the big stars was this ad.

Ayesha Takia in Complan Ad

Complan has wooed growing children and their mothers in a bid to provide height and nutrition since a long time now.  The only thing they did different was come up with different ads. This ad from the early 90s had Ayesha Takia along with Shahid Kapoor alongwith amiable lady making children tug at their mother’s sareeto get them Complan. Incidently, the pair went on to do four movies together in Bollywood. The most recent one being Paathshaala by Ahmed Khan.

Aishwarya Rai in Lakme Ad

The gorgeous woman Hindi cinema has ever seen, the one for whom even the Hollywood and the rest of the world drools did a few ads for beauty products in her modelling years. She was yet to rule our hearts through movies and had not caught the world’s attention by winning the Miss World title. She was a model and aptly enough, endorse beauty product brands, among which, the Lakme ad was prominent.

Katrina Kaif in Fevicol Ad

Fevicol is known to make ads which have genius ideas, funny to the core and even outrageous satire on social issues. One such ad features Katrina Kaif, the reigning queen of commercial Bollywood movies. Back then in 2000, she was at the cusp of making it big and her struggling days were to last only a few more months. Talk about lucky charms!

Vidya Balan in Clinic Plus Ad

Early struggle, modelling days, finally a few films and then being shown the exit door… Vidya has seen it all. This top notch actress who can carry a film on her own able shoulders now was once a model and did many TV commercials before she could finally grab a movie. The first amongst the ads she did was of Clinic Plus and she was a model then. Now Vidya has many brands to boast including hair oils and cooking oils. She uses her reach and appeal to the masses for a Government of India ad in which she is seen teaching villagers the need to build toilets.

Deepika Padukone in Close Up Ad

This dusky goddess and leggy beauty was in her teens when she said yes to Close Up and appeared in a TV commercial when she was in her modelling years. The ad is fun and Deepika looks fresh and pleasant in this 60 seconder. She is a top actress now and endorses big names now but her first prominent ad was with Close Up and it did propel her career.

Shahrukh Khan in Hero Puch Ad

Shahrukh khan is one of the biggest stars of this era and he goes by innumerable names like King Khan and Badshah given to him by his fans. But every big has a beginning and so had this self-made superstar of Bollywood. It was early 90’s and SRK was still a struggling actor. He did Fauji alright but wasn’t really able to burst through the scene. In a bid to make his presence felt and maybe grab a film he did this ad and it is a laugh riot till the end. This ad may be funny, but SRK has climbed mammoth proportions since then and today no one comes near him in appearing for big brands of international repute.