Bollywood’s star wives often face a lot of flak, for riding on the success of their ‘better’ halves. Stereotyped into a ‘supportive’ role in the lives of their husbands, they are very often seen as trophy wives, living off their partner’s fame and money. While this labeling may hold true for some, many star wives come from their own history of struggle, and stand tall on their own two feet. Here are a few:
Arbaaz Khan’s wife, Malaika Arora Khan surely needs no introduction. Tagged as the hottest item girl Bollywood has, Malaika began her career on her own, as the first non-filmy VJ from MTV. Her work was soon appreciated and eventually she started to co-anchor with Cyrus Broacha. Her first item number ‘Chaiyya Chaiyaa’ with Shah Rukh Khan
in the film ‘Dil se’ is an ever popular number. Claiming her own identity as a diva, Malaika has been a reality show judge in shows like ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’, ‘Nach Baliye’ and ‘Zara Nachke Dikha’.
Superstar Akshay Kumar’s wife, Twinkle Khanna’s acting career never really took off. When she married Akshay, this could have been a great breeding ground for stories to easily typecast her into the ‘trophy’ mould. Not easily daunted, Khanna soon took up interior designing. Twinkle’s first design experience started in her early years, when as a sixteen year old, she worked with an architect for pocket money. In 2000, she landed her first project along with her partner Gurlein Manchanda. They then started their own venture called ‘Mock Ups’. With a workforce of more than 45, Twinkle manages all kinds of interior jobs. She has designed Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji’s house amongst many other celebs.
Kiran Rao – Mr. Perfectionist – Aamir Khan’s wife started her filmi career, way before marriage, as an assistant director to Ashutosh Gowarikar in ‘Lagaan’. Infact, on the sets of ‘Lagaan’ Rao met Khan and they fell in love. She was also an assistant director for ‘Monsoon Wedding’, ‘Saathiya’ and ‘Swades’. Recently, she has also written, directed and produced ‘Dhobi Ghat’.
Arjun Rampal’s elegant wife Mehr Jessia Rampal is a Former Miss India. Before getting hitched, she was the highest paid model in India along with Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman. After retiring from the modelling circuit, she started her own modeling agency. She also produced the film ‘I See You’ along with her husband.
Superstar Hrithik Roshan’s childhood sweetheart Suzanne Roshan is also an established interior designer. Taking in the footsteps of her mother who had designed a grand resort called ‘Golden Palms’, Bangalore; Suzanne attended Brooks College in Long Beach, California to obtain an Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design and after three months of internship in the US, she returned to Mumbai. After she got married, she started Suzanne Roshan’s House of Design store. She has designed Priyanka Chopra’s house and has opened a new store in partnership called ‘The Charcoal Project’.
Actor and Director Farhan Akhtar’s wife – Adhuna Akhtar is trained in hairstyling from UK. She first started a salon in Mumbai with Avan Contractor, but later parted ways and started a famous salon alongwith her brother Osh Bhabani called ‘b:blunt’. was the person behind the ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ look which became a rage with youngsters.
There are many, many more Bollywood wives who are quite successful on their own, but we have only listed a few here.
