Birthday Bumps: The gorgeous Sonakshi Sinha turns 24

After the soaring success of 'Dabangg', it has been reported that Sonakshi overnight hiked her fees as an actress.

Sonakshi's lucky streak in Bollywood continues. The actress who is known to be pretty close to Salman has also been signed up for his next movie 'Kick'.

Sonakshi has sported both traditional attires and Western silhouettes with elan.

Sonakshi played a simple village belle in 'Dabangg' that made her a star overnight. In her upcoming films however, she will be required to portray absolutely glamorous avatars. With several awards in her kitty for the big bang 'Dabangg', we hope 2011 turns out to be as lucky for her as last year.

After the puppy fat of adolescence melted away and was replaced by leaner curves, Sonakshi stepped out of her father, actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha's shadow and struck out on her own in the industry.

Like several of her fellow-actors in the industry, Sonakshi started her career as a model. It has been said she had to lose 26 kilos before getting to sashay in designer clothes on the ramp.

Sonakshi had a dream debut in Bollywood. She was paired opposite none other than Salman Khan in one of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood - 'Dabangg'. The film broke records, earned the actress fame and fortune and catapulted her to the rank of the leading actresses in the industry.

While she lost oodles of weight before making her Bollywood debut, Sonakshi has steered clear of slipping into a size-zero frame. Never afraid of draping body-hugging silhouettes, Sonakshi shows off her frame with panache.

While some of the most beautiful faces in Bollywood have had to sign up for mediocre films right after their debut, it seems Sonakshi has her lucky stars shining down upon her. She has been signed up as the female lead in Shirish Kunder's 'Joker' opposite Akshay Kumar and is also set to unleash her glam quotient in the sequel of 'Race'.

After 'Dabangg' released, leading brands have come knocking on her doors, each vying for her commitment to endorse their range of products. In fact, the hottie has replaced several of the leading Bollywood actresses from advertisements and campaigns including Preity Zinta and Katrina Kaif.

How many Bollywood actresses can carry off a canary yellow ensemble without giving us a blinding headache? Well, Sonakshi can!

Though she did not have too many memorable dialogues in 'Dabangg', praise for her performance came pouring in right from when the film released. In fact, Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan himself was heard saying that he was impressed by the young actress' performance and her work definitely did not seem like that of a debut actress. Fine words to come from a filmmaker of his calibre.

Her amazing physical transformation has catapulted her from being a plump teenager to nothing less than a diva. Text by Sujata Chakrabarti, Picture courtesy: Yogen Shah The actress is famous for her sartorial tastes. She is a real fashion chameleon! Her amazing physical transformation has catapulted her from being a plump teenager to nothing less than a diva. Text by Sujata Chakrabarti, Picture courtesy: Yogen Shah

Like many of the leading actress in Bollywood - Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherji, Priyanka Chopra - Sonakshi is a frequent front row occupant at leading fashion events in the country. Sonakshi who stunned the audience with her lean and mean look when she walked the ramp for designer duo Dev r Nil a few seasons ago, bagged an attractive opportunity to become the face of a clothes brand. She even walked in ace designer Narendra Kumar's creations at Lakme Fashion Week.