Not every Bollywood star has had a dream debut.
Yes, Kareena Kapoor may have had one in Refugee and Deepika Padukone may have got lucky with Om Shanti Om, but not everyone shares the same opening luck.
Joginder Tuteja looks at the lesser known films of these stars.
Kiara Advani, Fugly
Kiara was a part of two blockbusters in a single year, Kabir Singh and Good Newwz, and she has earned her fame. But she did not have a dream start.
Though she was launched by Akshay Kumar's production house with Fugly, she hardly enjoyed any recognition then.
Shraddha Kapoor, Teen Patti, Luv Ka The End
From being a part of an ensemble affair Teen Patti (led by Amitabh Bachchan) and then getting Aditya Chopra to (re)launch her in Luv Ka The End, it seemed like Shraddha Kapoor was getting everything on a platter.
Both films flopped and it was left to Mahesh Bhatt, Mukesh Bhatt and their nephew Mohit Suri to set the stage for her in Aashiqui 2.
Fatima Sana Shaikh, Akaash Vani
After being a child star in films like Chachi 420 and One 2 Ka 4 , Fatima played a supporting part opposite Nushrat Bharucha in Akaash Vani before she hit the big time in Dangal.
Nushrat Bharucha, Jai Santoshi Maa
Nushrat Bharucha got famous after the big success of the Pyaar Ka Puchnama franchise and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. One may believe she had a modest beginning to her career with the sleeper hit Love Sex Aur Dhokha.
The truth is that she had featured as a leading lady in Jai Santoshi Maa many years ago.
Priyanka Chopra, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy
There are quite a few tales about the false starts Priyanka Chopra had to suffer in her career before getting it right with Andaaz opposite Akshay Kumar.
While a few films did not go beyond the announcement stage, Priyanka made a reasonable first impression as a second female lead in the Sunny Deol starrer The Hero.
Jacqueline Fernandez, Aladdin
Jacqueline Fernandez was meant to have a dream start in Bollywood with Sujoy Ghosh's Aladdin.
This box office disaster was followed by a film with Riteish Deshmukh, Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai, and that failed too.
She finally came into her own with Murder 2.
Rakul Preet Singh, Yaariyan
One of the best things about last year's hit De De Pyaar De was Rakul Preet who lit up the screen every time she appeared.
She went through a complete makeover when compared to her debut film, Yaariyan.
Incidentally, that film was a hit too, but somehow Rakul could not gain from it.
She went south instead and built a good career there.
Nimrat Kaur, Peddlers
Nimrat Kaur stepped on the global map with The Lunchbox and later delivered a big hit in Airlift, before playing a stellar role in the Showtime hit show Homeland and the American television show Wayward Pines.
But she must rue the fact that her debut feature film Peddlers, which made such a splash on the festival circuit, is yet to release in India.
Katrina Kaif, Boom
Katrina Kaif's debut flick was the much maligned Boom, which starred Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff and Gulshan Grover.
While many believe Salman Khan got her into the Bollywood scene with Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar Released before that.
Karisma Kapoor, Prem Qaidi
Karisma ruled the 1990s with several superhits to her credit.
But she suffered four flops before delivering her first hit Jigar with Ajay Devgn.
She started her career with films like Prem Qaidi, Police Officer, Nishchay and Deedar,
