Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan hails from a filmmaking family -- his father is a producer, his late uncle was a producer and director, his nephew Imran is a rising star and his cousin is a director who gave him his first lead role, in 1988's "Qayamat Se Quayamat Tak," for which he won Filmfare's Best Male Debut Award. Despite his relatives' involvement in the industry, however, Khan's success is due not to nepotism but to his rousing charisma, which was never more fully on display than in 2001's Oscar-nominated "Lagaan," a rousing song-and-dance period epic in which the actor (who also produced) played a peasant who helps fight the oppression of his town's British commanding officer via a high-stakes game of cricket. One of the three Khans who dominated '90s Bollywood (alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan), his career has been marked by a mixture of commercial and offbeat endeavors, from blockbusters like "Dil" and "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar" to edgier fare like "Raakh," a dark, critically acclaimed 1989 film that will receive a 20th anniversary release later this year. The Muslim Khan made waves around the time of his debut when it was revealed that he had married non-Muslim Reena Dutta and kept it secret from his family and the public, though the ensuing mini-scandal did little to derail his professional ascent, which continues in various forms today, whether it be behind the camera, as with 2007's directing debut "Taare Zameen Par," or in front of it, in smashes like last year's "Memento"-inspired "Ghajini."