Here's a look at some promising Bollywood actors who have no films in hand at the moment either out of choice or probably due to lack of offers

Hits and flops are part of every actor's career, but some actors do not believe in going on a film signing spree just because a lot of time has elapsed since their last outing. They like to take it slow, biding their time whenever any offer comes their way. Then there's another category of actors that lies low not out of choice, but due to lack of offers, especially after a string of duds or average grossers - although that may not have anything to do with their talent. hitlist takes a look at some promising actors who have no films in hand at the moment.

Vidya Balan

She may have emerged as a 'shero' following hits like 'The Dirty Picture' (2011) and 'Kahaani' (2012), someone who has given a strong push to women-centric films, but she hardly has any project in her kitty currently. Sources suggest that she wants to play it slow, given that her last few releases - 'Ghanchakkar' (2013), 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects' (2014), 'Bobby Jasoos' (2014) and 'Hamari Adhuri Kahani' (2015) - failed to set off fireworks at the box office. There are rumours that she might star in a biopic on Suchitra Sen and also play Geeta Bali in a film inspired by legendary actor Bhagwan Dada, but there is no official confirmation from Vidya's end. The actress apparently wants to stay away from biopics.

Imran Khan

When 'Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na' hit theatres in 2008, he was heralded as an up-and-coming star. However, after the failure of his next two films - 'Kidnap' (2008) and 'Luck' (2009), he was written off as a "one film wonder". Post that, he went on to do quite a few films (including one by mamujaan Aamir Khan - 'Delhi Belly' in 2011), but the duds overshadowed the commercially successful films. Imran went off the radar after back-to-back flops, 'Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola', 'Gori Tere Pyaar Mein' and 'Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!' (all in 2013), and enjoyed fatherhood in between. After a gap of two years, he recently returned to the big screen with 'Katti Batti' opposite Kangana Ranaut, but that too did not do well at the box office. Last we heard, he has now gone into introspection mode.

Aditya Roy Kapur

Four years after he stepped into B-Town with the 2009 dud 'London Dreams', Aditya hit bull's eye with 'Aashiqui 2'. He not only garnered appreciation for his performance and chemistry with Shraddha Kapoor, the film also entered the Rs 100-crore club. His last film, 'Daawat-E-Ishq' (2014), did not fare well at the box office. While the actor recently wrapped up the shoot of Abhishek Kapoor's 'Fitoor', he seems a little behind his contemporaries including Varun Dhawan and Sushant Singh Rajput, who have been bagging big-ticket films one after another.

Parineeti Chopra

A YRF protege, this young gun has proved her acting chops time and again, but in a competitive industry, one is only as good as their last film. Her recent outings including 'Shuddh Desi Romance' (2013), 'Hasee Toh Phasee' and 'Daawat-E-Ishq' (both 2014) failed to set the box office coffers ringing, but it was after 'Kill Dil' (2014), her last outing, that she decided to bow out of the Bollywood scene for some time. The spunky actress had no films this year and has not confirmed any project for next year either. What she did in the meantime was knock off oodles of weight that now has her looking PHAT (pretty hot and tempting).