Throwback ads of Bollywood stars before they became famous

Aishwarya Rai had already been familiar to the Indian audience much before she won the Miss India runner-up title, and eventually the Miss World crown, in 1994. She was Sanjana — the beguiling girl next door who asks Aamir Khan for a bottle of Lehar Pepsi, or the flamboyant fashionista featured in the Lakme ultracolor ad. It is hard to comprehend that she has remained at the top of her game for more than two decades, in an industry deemed to sideline women as they get older.

Most of us are familiar only with the commercials of big brands done by Aishwarya, but there are several others which might have escaped our notice. One such ad had gone viral on Youtube last year, where the Bollywood star can be seen featured alongside another star, Sonali Bendre. The ad was for Radha’s garments, where a young gorgeous Aishwarya can be seen sporting a different hairstyle.

This Fevicol ad from the late 90s featuring a teenager Katrina Kaif is hilarious. Kat looks stunning in her khaki shorts, white tee and blue scarf in this ad shot during her early modelling days in India.

Aishwarya could be credited for bridging Bollywood and the modelling industry in India, as several models followed in her footsteps to try their luck in Tinseltown, like Deepika Padukone. The South Indian beauty has come up trumps in the industry because of her versatility and is one of the top-paid stars currently. Before that, Deepika used to be a familiar face on ramp, walking for several top names in the fashion circle. Check out this old Close-Up ad featuring a young Deepika Padukone.

Remember the Pepsi commercial featuring the stars of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? If you are a fan of KKHH, you would definitely remember the ad choreographed by Farah Khan. But how many of you remember the young fanboy who got lucky to groove with Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee in the “Yeh Dil Maange More” song? It’s hard to believe that the lanky youth in that ad is Shahid Kapoor, who has metamorphosed into a sinewy hunk with the passage of time.

The list would be incomplete without the mention of dimpled beauty Preity Zinta, a.k.a the Liril girl back then. Young, vibrant and refreshingly sexy Preity won the hearts of Indians with that commercial, and she capitalised on that popularity to embark on her Bollywood adventure .

And here’s another one from Preity, for Cadbury’s Perk