If the men are doing it so are the women. From opening restaurants to starting hotels, actresses are also blurring the lines between the worlds of Bollywood and business.
While actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Shah Rukh Khan and Suniel Shetty are thriving in the business world, their counterparts Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai and Preity Zinta are also giving them tough competition.
Sushmita was probably the first to turn entrepreneur when she set up her company Sensazione in 2006. Through her company, she plans to open a chain of hotels, lounges and spas. Besides, she has acquired 12,000 sq ft of space in Kolkata for a 'lifestyle zone', which apart from a huge open space will house a nightclub, a restaurant and a cigar lounge.
She says frankly that she was tired of being an actor and business had always been a second career option.
"Had I not been an actor, I would have been an entrepreneur. The lounge bar in Kolkata and my dream project, the spa, are all part of my effort to touch people's lives," the actress has been quoted as saying.
Sushmita has other plans too.
Under the banner of her production house Tantra Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the ex-Miss Universe also wants to make meaningful films. Her first venture is "Rani Lakshmi Bai - The Warrior Queen". The actress, who is directing as well as acting in the film, is currently busy with the pre-production work of the historical epic.