2014 Rewind: Bollywood stars who dabbled in parallel vocations

If invention is propelled by necessity reinvention is de rigueur After all it is the era of multitasking and crossfunctionality mdash and Bollywood ainrsquot willing to lag behind That is precisely why we have a bunch of filmmakers and singers who can act choreographers who don the directorrsquos hat and actors who can make films or turn singers overnight Be it for professional growth or personal satisfaction several celebs continued the trend of jumping tracks in 2014 hitlist highlights some of themhellipCalling the shotsPriyanka ChopraLike most beauty queens PeeCee also ventured into the realm of Hindi moviedom after winning the Miss World crown in 2000 A string of flops later she established herself among the topnotch actresses and followed it up with music singles that were released worldwide This year she pushed the envelope by turning coproducer for Madhur Bhandarkarrsquos MadamjiShahid KapoorHe joined the league of actors turning producers with Vishal Bhardwajrsquos Haider In fact Shahid along with Vishal and UTV had equal stake in the film But the actor decided to keep his new stint lowkey by not taking credit officially for itAlsohellipgtgt Shilpa Shetty saw her maiden project Dishkiyaoon releasing this year However the film set in the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld failed to set the box office coffers ringinggtgt Anushka Sharmarsquos debut production titled NH10 went on the floors in January and was wrapped up by May Though it was scheduled to release in September it has been pushed to March next yearWrapping it upKaran JoharThe filmmaker who makes his acting debut with Anurag Kashyaprsquos Bombay Velvet indulged his passion for designing by launching a line of women wear for an international clothing brand KJo had collaborated with designer Varun Bahl for a menrsquos collection four years agoSonam KapoorBilled as Bollywoodrsquos fashion icon Sonam has quite recently turned stylist for dear cousin Arjun Kapoor for all public appearances for the promotions of his upcoming filmSinging alongShraddha Kapoor Hailing from a family of music stalwarts it was only natural for this young actress to dabble in the vocation sooner rather than later She put her vocal cords to test with a duet with Ankit Tiwari for Ek Villain The song titled Galliyan topped the music charts for several weeks For those who are still guessing Shraddha is the grandniece of celebrated singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha BhosleAlia BhattWhen she stepped into Bollywood as the glamorous Shanaya in Student of the Year some called it as a rather safe debut But she silenced her critics with her very next film Imtiaz Alirsquos Highway Not only was she lauded for her acting chops but also for taking up the mic for the soulful Soona saha track composed by none other than AR Rahman Alia went back to the recording studio again for Main tenu samjhawan ki Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania The actresssinger added another feather to her cap by turning stylist for an online fashion retailer Talk about being versatileSonakshi Sinha Though she confesses that her singing talent is confined only to the four walls of her bathroom she has entered the actresssinger club with a party number for her upcoming film Tevar The song has been recorded with Hollandbased singer Imran Khan of Amplifier fame and is trending on social media But she has clarified that it was a oneoff experience and that she isnrsquot competing with Alia or Shraddha Whatrsquos more Shruti Hassan who will be seen in an item song in the film has sung a romantic song for Sona Earlier this year the Dabangg girl crooned a few lines for the sequel of Hollywood animation film RioFacing the cameraKunal Kohli Having worked with the likes of Aamir Khan Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan the filmmaker decided not to scout for actors for his next project Phir Se He cast himself in it opposite telly actress Jennifer Winget However the film has run into a hurdle following plagiarism charges levelled against him by writer Jyoti KapoorMahesh Bhatt The filmmaker who took sanyaas from direction many years ago was signed on to play a Buddhist monk in Mukul Misrarsquos directorial debut Siddhartha Bhatt made it official on social media in May when he posted ldquoStepping into the frame of silencerdquo It is to be seen if he goes bald or uses prosthetics for his roleAlsohellipgtgt Honey Singh made his acting debut with a small negative role in The Xpose starring Himesh Reshammiya and Sonali Rautgtgt Monali Thakur showed her acting prowess as a child prostitute in Nagesh Kukunoorrsquos Lakshmi which released this year