While stepping into the glitzy world of Bollywood is a dream for thousands, it is only those inside the world who are aware of the dark side it comes with. From feeling inferior to having poor self-esteem, several Bollywood actors have faced inner struggles that made them contemplate continuing their acting careers in the industry. 

Here are 5 Bollywood actors who almost quit acting. 

1. Shah Rukh Khan

Reigning over the industry as King Khan, the 56-year-old once decided to quit cinema after feeling insecure about the way he looked. 

“When I saw myself for the first time on screen, this was for the rushes. Rushes are dailies. You shoot the scenes and you see the negatives. That was the time when we had negatives. So, I was looking at Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman rushes in RK Studio. And I realised I am so ugly,” Khan said in 2019, according to IANS. 

2. Katrina Kaif

Just a few years into Bollywood, Katrina Kaif decided that it was time to pack her bags and find a new career after the 38-year-old watched her 2007 film ‘Namastey London’ and felt that it was a “disaster”.

 “When I saw the film, I was terrified. I just saw too much of me in the film, and you start believing what people say. I was like, ‘No, no, no, people can’t see me in a film, they won’t watch the film, it’s a disaster. This is over, my life is over.’ I was like, ‘I am packing my bags, and I am going to find a new career,” she said during a segment on Koffee With Karan. 

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3. Aamir Khan

The 57-year-old recently revealed his hasty decision of quitting Bollywood during the pandemic.

“No, I quit. Nobody knows this. I’m saying for the first time, you will be shocked. I had informed my family that I won’t be doing any films from now onwards. Neither I’ll act nor I will produce any films. I don’t want to do all this. Then I thought I should tell people that I won’t be acting in films now. Then I said if I tell people they will say, ‘This is his marketing scheme as his film Laal Singh Chaddha is about to release, he is announcing his retirement. A lot happened in two years, I quit the industry and came back,” he told ABP.

Khan reevaluated the decision after his family convinced him to do so.

4. Abhishek Bachchan

Abhishek Bachchan was on the verge of quitting after feeling disappointed with his work during his initial days in the industry. 

“At one point in time, I felt it was my mistake that I came into the industry as whatsoever I was trying, it was not working. I went to my dad and said maybe I am not made for this industry,”  he said in an interview with RJ Siddharth Kannan.

He changed his mind after his father and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan said, “I never brought you up to be a quitter. Every morning you have to wake up and fight for your place under the sun. As an actor, you are improving with every film.”

5. Hrithik Roshan

Soon after garnering fame for his debut in ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’, Roshan’s knee injury led him to believe that it was time to quit acting and venture into singing or filmmaking. 

“I worked on Kites only for seven months. Before that, I was trying to treat my knee. For six months there was no sign of recovering from my knee pain. At that time I thought either I will turn to singing or directing a film,” he told IANS.