1. Vicky Kaushal: Assistant Director – Gangs Of Wasseypur

Bollywood’s latest heartthrob worked as an assistant director with Anurag Kashyap on Gangs Of Wasseypur in 2011. 

In fact, he first appeared in front of the camera when giving the clap for a scene during the shoot, before wowing the audience with his debut in Masaan in 2015.   

2. Parineeti Chopra: PR Consultant – YRF

Parineeti Chopra worked as a PR consultant with YRF before she decided that acting was what she was really interested in. And thus, after working on promotions of Band Baaja Baaraat, Parineeti decided to pursue acting. 

3. Vikrant Massey: Assistant Choreographer – Dhoom Machao Dhoom

Reportedly, Massey – who is a trained ballet dancer – worked as an assistant choreographer with Shiamak Davar for the show Dhoom Machao Dhoom before he decided to face the camera and turned to acting. 

4. Varun Dhawan: Assistant Director – My Name Is Khan

Before earning praises for his onscreen performances, he worked as an assistant director on Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan. 

5. Sidharth Malhotra: Assistant Director – My Name Is Khan

Another Bollywood star who made the jump from behind the camera to the front is Sidharth Malhotra. And no wonder his camaraderie with Varun Dhawan seemed so genuine in Student Of The Year because both of them worked as assistant directors in the movie. My Name Is Khan. 

6. Sonam Kapoor: Assistant Director – Black

Sonam Kapoor owes her foray into Bollywood to director Sanjay Leela Bhansali – because he was the one who suggested she face the camera and not stay behind it when she was working with him as an assistant director on Black. The rest, as they say, is history. 

7. Ranbir Kapoor: Assistant Director – Aa Ab Laut Chalen and Black

Just like his debut co-star, Ranbir Kapoor also assisted director Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the movie Black – before working with him as an actor. 

In fact, he wanted to be an assistant director to Bhansali primarily to earn a chance to work with him and even appeared in Black in a small scene, disguised as Amitabh Bachchan. 

However, this was not his first stint as an assistant director – he had worked with his father, Rishi Kapoor, on Aa Ab Laut Chalen in 1999. 

8. Kunal Kapoor: Assistant Director – Aks

Before wowing the audience with Meenaxi and Rang De Basanti, actor Kunal Kapoor assisted director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on Aks in 2001. 

9. Hrithik Roshan: Assistant Director – Khudgarz, King Uncle, Karan Arjun, and Koyla.

He probably has the most experience as an assistant director of all the people on the list, as Hrithik Roshan worked on four of his father’s (director Rakesh Roshan) films – Khudgarz, King Uncle, Karan Arjun, and Koyla. 

10. Sonakshi Sinha: Costume Designer – Mera Dil Leke Dekho

Sonakshi Sinha actually had an extremely brief stint as a costume designer before venturing into movies. Having studied fashion designing, she designed costumes for the movie Mera Dil Leke Dekho, released in 2005. However, pretty soon Sonakshi turned to acting. 

11. Arjun Kapoor: Assistant Director – Kal Ho Naa Ho and Salaam-e-Ishq; Assistant Producer – No Entry and Wanted.

Arjun Kapoor worked as both, assistant director and assistant producer, before exploring life in front of the camera. As assistant director, he worked with director Nikhil Advani on Kal Ho Naa Ho and Salaam-e-Ishq. He then worked as an assistant producer with his father, Boney Kapoor, on No Entry and Wanted.

12. Emraan Hashmi: Assistant Director – Raaz

Before acting in romantic dramas, Emraan Hashmi actually worked on a supernatural drama as an assistant director. He worked on the sets of Mukesh Bhatt’s Raaz – when he was only 23 – before deciding to pursue acting. 

13. Harshvardhan Kapoor: Assistant Director – Bombay Velvet

He debuted with Mirzya in 2016 but that wasn’t his first tryst with Bollywood. Like his sister, Sonam Kapoor, Harshvardhan too worked as an assistant director on the sets of Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet in 2015. 

14. Arshad Warsi: Assistant Director – Thikana and Kaash

Arshad Warsi has had a long career with Bollywood, and while many may think it started in 1996 with Tere Mere Sapne, that’s not true. He first worked as an assistant director on Mahesh Bhatt’s Thikana and Kaash. In fact, he even choreographed the title track for Roop Ki Raani Choron Ka Raja. 

Multi-talented stars indeed! How many of these did you know about?