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    16 Candid, Behind-The-Scenes Photos Of Bollywood Stars Taken Right Before The "Action"

    Right before all the magic happens.

    During his first ever visit to India in 2010, American photographer Mark Bennington began a book project titled Living the Dream: The Life of the 'Bollywood' Actor which is an in-depth exploration of the acting community of Bollywood.

    Bennington explains: "The series has 112 photographs and interviews from the beginning student to the biggest star in the country and everyone in between. This is the story of many, that only few know.

    "Actors are actors wherever you go; they share a universal commitment to story telling by hiding and revealing their lives at the same time. It’s this dichotomy that provoked the purest interest in me... I decided to present the actors in their own words, quoting them directly and making as few edits as possible."

    Bennington's photos take a look at what goes on behind-the-scenes when Bollywood actors create the movie magic on-screen.

    1. Ranveer Singh, at an award show, right before flying down to the stage using a harness.

    2. Kareena Kapoor Khan, waiting for her shot to get ready at a sunscreen commercial shoot.

    3. Nargis Fakhri, getting ready for a promotional event in a washroom in Mumbai.

    4. Deepika Padukone, at a music video shoot in FilmCity, Mumbai.

    5. Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha in Pune, with onlookers from nearby buildings gathered around.

    6. Ranbir Kapoor, between takes at an ad shoot in Yash Raj Studios.

    7. Ratna Pathak Shah and Naseeruddin Shah, watching a rehearsal in progress from the lighting booth at Prithvi Theatre.

    8. Abhay Deol, on a shoot location.

    9. Shilpa Shetty, outside her vanity van after wrapping an ad shoot in Mehboob Studios.

    10. Boman Irani, getting ready in his trailer for a shoot.

    11. Neetu Chandra, practicing yoga early in the morning at Juhu beach.

    12. Rajeev Khandelwal, checking out his look in a mirror on a film set.

    13. Huma Qureshi, posing for a picture at Café Coffee Day in Mumbai.

    14. Bharti Singh, getting ready to shoot for a comedy show.

    15. Randeep Hooda, riding one of his horses at the Mahalakshmi race course.

    16. Late Dev Anand, snapped while talking about his illustrious movie career.

    You can look at more photos from Mark Bennington's series here.