From spotlight to strategy: How Bollywood stars are quietly building business empires

Once defined solely by box office numbers and fan clubs, a growing number of Bollywood celebrities are flipping the script on what it means to be a ‘star.’ They’re not just selling dreams on screen—they’re now shaping markets off it. From beauty brands and fitness lines to breweries and sports franchises, a new breed of actor-entrepreneurs is rising, stealthily but steadily turning fame into fortune—and influence into enterprise.

Act one: Fame as capital

In a country where stardom often transcends logic, Bollywood actors have always wielded massive cultural capital. But something changed in the last decade. Endorsements gave way to equity. Appearances turned into boardroom negotiations. Bollywood’s most business-savvy began to understand that celebrity is not just currency—it’s venture capital.

Take the ‘badshah’ Shah Rukh Khan, for instance. While his reign as the ‘King of Bollywood’ is undisputed, his moves off-screen reveal the vision of a long-term strategist. His production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, isn’t just a vanity label; it’s a powerhouse of content and VFX that serves both film and streaming platforms. His co-ownership of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders transformed a sports franchise into a pop culture icon. According to market estimates, KKR holds a brand value of over ₹900 crore.

The business of reinvention

If Khan represents power and scale, actor Deepika Padukone symbolises something more intimate—personal brand as an enterprise. Over the last five years, she’s taken strategic bets that mirror a deep understanding of consumer sentiment and wellness culture. Her investments in brands like Epigamia (Greek yoghurt) and her own wellness startup 82°E are aligned with the values she espouses— mental health, mindfulness, and sustainability. Padukone, who has been open about her battles with depression, doesn’t just ‘sell’ self-care. She builds businesses around it.

Solving real problems, not just playing roles

While some celebrity ventures begin with mass recognition, others are built quietly, fueled by personal experience and persistence. That’s the story behind one of the most successful direct-to-consumer brands to emerge from the entertainment world. In 2017, Parul Gulati, the actor best known for her work in digital series, launched Nish Hair—a brand born out of her own frustration with the lack of natural-looking hair extensions for Indian women. Starting with just INR 30,000 and operating from home, she stitched the products herself, answered every customer query, and used social media to build trust—one post at a time.

Her candour and relatability resonated with a growing audience of women facing similar struggles. The brand’s momentum culminated in a high-profile Shark Tank India appearance, where she secured ₹1 crore for just 2% equity—validation of both the business model and her tenacity.

Today, Nish Hair is valued at over ₹50 crore and boasts a 90% women-led workforce, proving that you don’t need stardom to build a meaningful, scalable brand—just insight, grit, and the courage to solve a real problem.

Enter the lifestyle architects

Not far behind is the charismatic actor Hrithik Roshan, who has used his image as India’s fitness icon to co-found HRX, a performance wear and lifestyle brand. Rather than license his name, Roshan built equity into the brand. Today, HRX is partnered with CureFit and boasts over INR 200 crore in annual revenue. What’s key here is not just the product, but the positioning.

Similarly, trailblazing and influential force Priyanka Chopra Jonas is showing how a globally mobile star can turn cross-cultural fluency into corporate vision. Her haircare line Anomaly, sold across the US, and her ex-venture in the restaurant ‘Sona’ in New York, exemplify a refined global brand identity. Through Purple Pebble Pictures, Chopra is backing stories that wouldn’t otherwise get told—regional films, women-led narratives, South Asian experiences. She's not just playing in global markets. She's creating them.

The quiet operators

Some prefer to build in silence. Actor and fitness enthusiast Suniel Shetty, often underestimated, has assembled a surprisingly diversified empire. From fitness chains and health-tech investments to fine dining and real estate, his portfolio is robust and calculated. In 2024, Shetty took a controlling stake in Squats, a fitness tech startup, and is working on launching a wellness platform aimed at Gen X and millennial men.  

Another low-key titan is veteran actor Danny Denzongpa, whose Yuksom Breweries, India's third-largest beer company, named after his hometown, launched in the late ’80s is now one of India’s leading indigenous beer manufacturers. His flagship brand is served in over 20 Indian states.

Then there’s the effervescent Genelia Deshmukh, who with husband Riteish Deshmukh, co-founded Imagine Meats, a plant-based food venture aimed at India's growing vegan and flexitarian population. It’s a business rooted in sustainability, animal welfare, and forward-thinking consumer shifts.

Sporting bets and strategic stakes

When vivacious and effortlessly charming Preity Zinta bought into the IPL team Punjab Kings, many dismissed it as a publicity stunt. Two decades later, she’s one of the most involved and respected franchise owners in the league. Known for her on-field enthusiasm, Zinta also leads on merchandising and digital fan engagement, treating the franchise like a startup with loyal customers.

What’s notable about Zinta’s journey is that she chose sports, a male-dominated, high-stakes arena and turned it into a credible business identity, paving the way for other women investors in the space.

Behind the glamour: Real business principles

For all the star power and press, these actors-turned-entrepreneurs share common traits:

• Authenticity: Their ventures reflect who they are, not just what’s trending.
• Strategic Partnerships: They align with domain experts and professional CEOs to scale effectively.
• Brand Consistency: Whether in film or business, the narrative is coherent—audiences know what to expect.
• Risk Appetite: They're not afraid to fail—many, like Chopra and Khan, have had flops but doubled down on vision.

Why this shift matters

This isn’t just about fame morphing into fortune. It’s about celebrities taking control of their careers and their legacies. In a country where the line between public and private personas is blurred, this model allows stars to own the narrative, the equity, and the long-term impact.

It also redefines entrepreneurship itself. It tells us that successful businesses don’t always start in garages they can start on movie sets, in makeup trailers, or over chai between shoots.

Fade out—or future blueprint

As the credits roll on the old model of celebrity endorsements, a new reality is emerging. These stars aren’t just lending their names to brands—they’re building them. And if their current trajectories are any indication, the next generation of business leaders might not come from B-schools alone—they might just come from Bollywood. Because in the India of tomorrow, the most powerful boardroom may very well have a makeup mirror.

At TechHR India 2025, we’ll spotlight these shifting paradigms—where influence meets innovation, and storytelling powers entrepreneurship.

Register now to join the movement that's redefining what leadership and enterprise look like in the age of convergence.