Raveena Tandon

reference Born into the chaos and glitz of Bollywood—her dad’s Ravi Tandon, a director, so it’s not like she was ever going to be an accountant—Raveena dumped college faster than you can say “action” to try her luck in modeling. Not that anyone was falling over themselves to book her, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. Her first film gig? _Patthar Ke Phool_ in ’91, which basically fizzled at the box office and got her more sympathy than stardom. The next few years? Oof. Flop after flop, the kind of run that makes you question your life choices. Then suddenly, _Andaz Apna Apna_ happened in ’94, and people finally started to notice her. But it was _Mohra_ the same year that really cranked things up—suddenly, Raveena was everywhere, all set to become Bollywood royalty. Of course, the universe loves drama. She got tangled up with Akshay Kumar (on and off screen), and things went downhill—movies bombing, rumors flying, and Karisma Kapoor apparently gunning for her roles. By the end of ’95, it was rough: bit parts, hardly any limelight, and the gossip mills working overtime. But then, just when it looked like she’d fade out, _Ziddi_ dropped in ’97 and smashed it. Suddenly, she was back on top, bigger than ever, proving you can never count her out for long. Bollywood’s got a short memory, and Raveena? She knows how to make a comeback.