The very first thing you notice about Indian actress Udita Goswami is her stunningly beautiful looks, which make it no surprise when you find out she was a model (for companies including Pepsi, Nokia, Star Movies and Titan Watches) before becoming a top Bollywood star.

Her movie career didn't get off to a very good start, with her first film, the Pooja Bhatt directed Paap, flopping commercially in 2003. Unphased by the set-back Udita persisted with her acting career.

"I didn't want to make a debut in a film seeing which the audience would say, 'Oh, just another model, who's come and gone.' I needed people to sit up and take notice of me," she said about her role in the unsuccessful movie Paap.

Fortunately, her next role in 2005's low-budget Zeher was successful and became her breakthrough role. The film's success was probably due, in no small part, to the controversial its sparked with its explicit scenes – with many people saying Udita showed too much skin in the movie.

Udita has spoken about the movie, saying: “Zeher is about a man (Hashmi) stuck in a bad marriage (with Shetty), and looking elsewhere for emotional support. That's when I enter his life.

“My character, Anna Varghese, is also stuck in a bad marriage as her husband beats and abuses her. She is also suffering from cancer. Though her husband knows that, he doesn't care about her.

“Emraan and I fall in love, and what happens next is what the film is about.”

The film established Undita as a sex symbol and lead her to become a well-known face in the industry.

Udita's latest movies are: Aksar, A sexy and scandalous suspense thriller, and Amar Joshi Shahid Ho Gaya. She is currently filming Kisse Pyaar Karoon.

With an army of male fans, Udita's acting career will almost certainly soar even higher in the future.