A decade after she stepped into Bollywood, Radhika Apte is now perceived as the talent to watch out for. We turn the spotlight on other actresses who began their career with a hiccup but were later catapulted into the big league...

In 2011, Ekta Kapoor had infamously quipped, "Who is Radhika Apte?" on a celebrity chat show. Her actor-brother, Tusshar Kapoor, who also featured in that episode alongside her, was asked to name the sexiest actresses and he said: 'Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif...' and then paused to think. Ekta quipped, "Radhika Apte?" At that point, show host and filmmaker Karan Johar asked, 'Who is this Radhika?' and Ekta added, 'Exactly! Who is Radhika Apte?'


While starting out in filmdom, Radhika Apte did a bit role in Mahesh Manjrekar's 2005 film 'Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!' starring Sanjay Dutt, Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao

Though Ekta might have been joking about not knowing Tusshar's 'Shor In The City' (2010) co-star then, she surely cannot afford to make that remark now. Radhika, who took almost a decade to find a foothold in the industry, is now a name to reckon with in Bollywood.

This year, she earned rave reviews for her small but significant role in 'Badlapur' and followed it up with 'Hunterrr' and a short film, 'Ahalya'. Last week, she was seen in critically appreciated 'Manjhi - The Mountain Man' and this week, she has 'Kaun Kitney Paani Mein'. Among her numerous upcoming projects is a Tamil film opposite South icon Rajinikanth.

Radhika straddles regional films, theatre and short films along with Bollywood projects and is counted among the promising youngsters to look out for.

hitlist draws up a list of some industry folk who, like Radhika, did not find much success in their initial phase of their career, but eventually managed to carved a niche for themselves.

Slow and steady
Jacqueline Fernandez now finds herself in the A-list category after starring with Salman Khan in 'Kick' last year. The Sri Lankan beauty pageant winner made her acting debut in Sujoy Ghosh's 'Aladin' (2009) and was then seen in Milap Zaveri's 'Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai' (2010). Rumours say it was Vivek Oberoi who introduced her to Sujoy and Jacky would often be spotted with the actor at events. And, ironically, it was VO's nemesis Salman who put her in the big league.


Jacqueline Fernandez

A cameo in her ex-boyfriend Sajid Khan's 'Housefull' (2010) followed by 'Murder 2' (2011), 'Housefull 2' (2012) and 'Race 2' (2013) enhanced her on-screen visibility. She has had three releases this year - 'Roy', 'Bangistan' and 'Brothers'. Her kitty now includes Rohit Dhawan's 'Dhishoom', Remo D'Souza's 'Flying Jat' and the sequel to the 2014 film 'Bang Bang' with Sidharth Malhotra besides endorsements. When Jacqueline arrived in Bollywood, she could not speak a word in Hindi. But now she dubs for her films herself.

Second coming
Amy Jackson, another foreign import, went missing from Bollywood soon after her debut in 'Ekk Deewana Tha' (2011). The British model-actress was at that time in a relationship with her co-star, Prateik. However, when things soured, Amy packed her bags and headed back to England - though she did an occasional South film and some modelling.


Now Amy is back on the scene. She did Shankar's Tamil film 'I' with South star Vikram that released earlier this year and set the box-office coffers ringing. Coming up next is Prabhu Dheva's 'Singh Is Bliing' with Akshay Kumar. At its trailer launch, Amy said, "I am fortunate to work with Prabhu Dheva Sir and Akshay Kumar. It is unbelievable to be part of such a team."

After a gap
Shruti Haasan stepped into Bollywood with 'Luck' (2009) and 'Dil To Baccha Hai Ji' (2011). However, it did not put the daughter of the legendary Kamal Haasan out there.


Shruti Hasaan

She went on to do South films and pursue her passion for music. She did two other films, 'Ramaiya Vastavaiya' and 'D Day' (both 2013). Now she has 'Welcome Back' with John Abraham and Anil Kapoor lined up for release next month followed by 'Rocky Handsome' again with John.

Taking the gamble
Shraddha Kapoor made her debut in a bit role in 'Teen Patti' (2010) followed by 'Luv Ka The End' (2011). The films were nothing to write home about.
Shraddha Kapoor

Though under a contract with Yash Raj Films, which offered her Aurangzeb with Arjun Kapoor, she went on to sign a film with the Bhatt camp - 'Aashiqui 2' (2013) opposite Aditya Roy Kapoor. She took a gamble, but it paid off and how. The film proved to be a raging hit and grossed over R100 crore. She followed it up with successful films like 'Ek Villain' and 'Haider' last year and 'ABCD 2' this year. Shraddha is now considered among the top young guns of filmdom.

Just shake it
American dancer Lauren Gottlieb landed a role in 'ABCD: Anybody Can Dance' (2013) and went on to be part of the dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'.


Lauren Gottlieb

Just when she was perceived as one of the numerous Western imports in Bollywood, she landed an item number in 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!', a role in 'Welcome To Karachi' and an item number in the upcoming 'Welcome Back'. She is currently judging 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded' and rubbing shoulders with Shahid Kapoor, Karan Johar and Ganesh Hegde.