Bollywood has a strong army connection. It boasts of having a lot of actors who come from military backgrounds and bring their ‘army upbringing’ to the work they’re doing.
So just in case you’re wondering where some of them get their disciplined lifestyle, bold nature and strong survival instinct from, you must know that it’s their army background in play!
We get you a list of Bollywood’s proud army kids. We’re glad they have an army background because if it weren’t for that, they maybe wouldn’t be what they are today.
Anushka Sharma
Anushka’s father, Colonel Ajay Kumar Sharma served as a Major in the Indian Army. She spent most of school life in cantonment schools across the country. A proud army child, she owes her personality and outlook towards life, completely to her army background.
Preity Zinta
This bubbly actress’ father, Durganand Zinta, was an officer in the Indian Army. He passed away in a car accident when Preity was just 13. Her brother Deepankar, is a commissioned officer in the Indian Army. Along with being a naughty tomboy as a child, she was also very disciplined and continues to be that way even today.
Priyanka Chopra
Her father, Dr Ashok Chopra and mother, Dr Madhu Akhauri, were both physicians in the army. She got to travel a lot all through her schooling years and was exposed to various cultures in the process. She gets her poise and elegance from being the army kid she was!
Chitrangada Singh
This dusky beauty was born to Colonel Niranjan Singh, an Indian Army officer. Being an army man’s daughter, she was always fitness conscious. She owes her independent nature and the woman she is, to the army background she hails from.
Lara Dutta
She was born to Wing Commander L.K. Dutta and her sister also serves the the Indian Air Force. According to this former Miss Universe, she learnt skills like swimming and public speaking, which were useful in beauty contests only because of the Air Force Clubs she attended.
Sushmita Sen
Her father is Shuber Sen, a former Indian Air Force Wing Commander. Sushmita studied in various air force schools across the country. The army environment gave her confidence and made her what she is today. We’re sure it played a huge role in her life because adopting two girls and becoming a single parent is not everyone’s cup of tea!
Neha Dhupia
This one’s from a navy background. Her father, Commander Pradip Singh Dhupia served in the Indian Navy. She says she won the Miss India crown only because of her navy background which made her bold and confident. Neha enjoys being associated to the Indian Navy even today. Whether it’s the Navy Balls or the Navy Queen contests, she makes it a point to be a part of them.
Shiney Ahuja
Shiney’s father served in the Indian army. He was gearing up to join the army like his father until he got interested in acting and decided to join Bollywood instead. He went through a rough patch in between after being accused of raping his maid but rose above it. We’re sure he gets his resilient nature from his military background.
Rajeev Khandelwal
His father, C.L. Khandelwal was a Lieutenant-colonel in the Indian Army. Hailing from an army family, he too was prepared to join the army but as fate would have it, his form got misplaced and finally got the chance of pursuing his dream of becoming an actor.