Back in 2004, when cosmetic surgeon Cesar Morillas claimed that he had built 21-year-old Peruvian beauty Maria Julia Mantilla, who was crowned Miss World that year, by giving her a nose job, breast and buttock implants and by trimming her ear, it came as quite a shocker. Bang came the beauty’s denial and a lawsuit against the surgeon.

Cut to 2007 and you have a Rakhi Sawant confessing on national television that she has undergone breast augmentation, botox to remove frown lines and collagen injections to improve her looks (ahem!). Ranting about her new looks, she said, “Jo bhagwan nahin deta, woh doctor deta hai (doctor gives what god doesn’t give).” For celebrities these days, it’s not just about going under the knife or working out to improve their looks, it’s about wearing it on their sleeve too. The stars seem to open up about the ‘pain’ they have undergone to enhance their looks.

In showbiz, 40 is the new 20 and 50, the new 30—only the new 40 and 50 are surgically enhanced. It’s rather interesting to spot a real star when you are a child, and then grow up and grow older along with him. Like Shah Rukh Khan for example. His ‘Om Shanti Om’ co-star Deepika Padukone enjoyed his big hit ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ when she was barely 14. Many changes have happened to Deepika since but Shah Rukh looks as young as ever even today.

‘Om Shanti Om’ has him sporting six-pack abs. After almost 15 years of a successful ride in the industry, Shah Rukh got insecure with his looks when his son Aryan said he was fat. The abs are not fake but the rumour mill has it that the star has undergone a facelift sometime in the recent past. And he is not the only one. At 42, Salman Khan looks a tad too hot for his age. Has he done a facelift too? The confirmation hasn’t come through, but that his splendid locks are fake is common knowledge.

Cosmetic surgery has different effects on different stars—relegating some to pin-up status and turning some to mere cartoons. The biggest cosmetic surgery casualty till date is none other pop icon Michael Jackson himself. The once plastic surgery poster girl, Pamela Anderson took the aid of implants to have a long-serving role in ‘Baywatch’, in which her scantily clad buxom figure was transmitted into the living rooms of millions of viewers worldwide.

In Hollywood everyone from hottie Angelina Jolie to fictitious Marge Simpson of ‘The Simpsons’ have undergone cosmetic surgery. ‘American Pie’ fame Tara Reid has openly admitted to a botched up breast augmentation in the recent past. She had to make many trips to her surgeon to get them even.

And can anyone believe even the most stunning actress Julia Roberts had issues with her looks? Even though she evades the question of a surgery, she is so amazing a performer that her possible surgery is hardly an issue with her fans. The gorgeous Liv Tyler is rumoured to have been ruining her lovely lips with collagen injections. This clearly shows how insecure even the most beautiful in showbiz can get about their looks.

When it comes to cosmetic surgeries, rhinoplasty or a nose job is the most common followed by breast augmentation, which seems to be catching up with the stars and commoners alike—what with the slashed prices for the surgery and improved implants hitting the market.

Rhinoplasty is considered the most ancient and most challenging form of plastic surgery. In well-trained hands it can dramatically improve your looks, add softness and harmony to your face, not to mention that rhinoplasty can substantially improve nasal breathing. Stars like Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry and Ashlee Simpson are the best examples of successful rhinoplasty.

Unlike their Hollywood counterparts, Bollywood stars are more hushed about the surgeries. Unless of course a doctor like an Ashok Gupta goes on record saying Bipasha Basu’s lovely appendages are his handiwork.
It was the South Indian lass Sridevi who pioneered the trend of makeovers. Her famed nose job also had a talismanic effect of sorts on her since she went on to become the uncrowned princess of Indian cinema after the surgery.

Post the terrace mishap in ‘Baazigar’, Shilpa Shetty came back to tinsel world with a brand new nose that stood by her through ups and downs. From a skinny Miss Universe to wholesome beauty, Sushmita Sen’s journey through duds was also not short of scalpel works. The story is no different for Madhuri Dixit or Manisha Koirala. 

Cosmetic surgery is catching up with the stars down south as well. Rajnikanth confessed to a lip surgery recently. Glamour was never kind to actress and dancer Shobhana until she took a brief hiatus from films sometime in the late 80s. She came back with a slimmer figure, fairer skin and went on to bag a national award for performance as well.

Beauty in showbiz is rarely natural. But then, an aging actress hardly stands a chance to win good roles in films. Once reigning queens of Bollywood, Sridevi, Manisha Koirala and Juhi Chawla had to retire to the comforts of their homes when age and marriage came in their way. While it’s easy to point fingers at the glamour world, filmmakers and the actors themselves for this trend, the real culprit is staring at you in the mirror.