Hindi cinema’s hottest new star enjoys telling this story. When he was shooting for 2010’s sleeper hit ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’, Ranveer Singh noticed an onlooker waving frantically to him. “Arrey, kiska beta hai tu (whose son are you)?” the chap yelled out. Knowing that this bystander was not really looking for the names of a newcomer’s non-film-businessman father and equally non-filmi home-maker mother, Ranveer called back, “Main apne ma-baap ka beta hoon (I’m the son of my father and mother).”
This road-side encounter is symptomatic of what Hindi film audiences have come to assume about the industry in these past two decades… that film families dominate, that an outsider has to be 10 times as charismatic and/or talented as a star child to get a break, and that producers are reluctant to give a chance to a newcomer without a famous surname. Ranveer is an aberration, one of those rare interlopers to get a well-publicised launch (BBB was produced by Yash Raj Films).
Look no further than his successful male contemporaries to know what he was up against: legendary producer-director Nasir Hussain’s grandson Imran Khan was launched as an actor by his uncle Aamir Khan and will appear soon in another Aamir production ‘Delhi Belly’; Shahid Kapoor, son of critically acclaimed actors Pankaj Kapoor and Neelima Azeem, will next be seen in Dad’s maiden directorial venture ‘Mausam’; and Ranbir Kapoor is a scion of The Kapoor Family.
Since Shah Rukh Khan’s debut over two decades back, only two non-film-family-sons have managed to garner high visibility: Akshay Kumar and John Abraham. During this period, there has also been a parade of star sons who were launched with much fanfare that fizzled out in whimpers: Bobby Deol, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Viveik Oberoi and so many more that there’s not enough space on this page to name them all. With big film clans running major production houses and gladly backing their heirs’ on-screen debuts, it’s clear that in Bollywood—to borrow and bastardise the tagline of director Karan Johar’s ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’—it truly is all about loving your family.
Bollywood’s star child syndrome is an indicator of the lack of imagination that plagues so many of the industry’s producers, marketers and films. If you are from a film family, your debut film has a readily available promotional hook. Ranbir tells us about producers who repeatedly approach him and his father Rishi with what he likes to call “projects, not films. Somebody once even came up with a project where they wanted all three of us (Ranbir and both his parents) but there was no story or anything, it was just a project. Offers like this keep coming to us.”
But the Kapoors—India’s longest-surviving film family—know well that in a field where the audience is the ultimate arbiter, lineage is no substitute for talent, charisma and quality films.
Ever since Prithviraj Kapoor stepped off a train from Peshawar on to a station platform in Mumbai in 1928, every single generation of this family has contributed at least one major star to the Hindi film industry. But Ranbir’s uncles Randhir and Rajiv could not make a dent. Another lesson to be learnt from their story is that each Kapoor actor who has succeeded in films has cherished his individuality and has not mimicked another family member.
So after Prithviraj’s imperious presence came Raj’s loveable tramp, Shammi’s yahoo ways and Shashi the urbane romantic. Rishi—the only one of Raj’s children to earn stardom—resembled none of his forebears. Ranbir may have made a brief bow to Raj’s tramp in his debut film ‘Saawariya’, but is now completely his own person. As are cousins Karisma and Kareena who
have no Kapoor women that they can be compared to.
The Kapoors are back to being a major force in Bollywood with reigning queen Kareena, the highly promising Ranbir and Rishi who is enjoying a wonderful second innings in the industry. After an awww-inspiring guest appearance in ‘Love Aaj Kal’, Rishi’s wife Neetu too returned in a leading role with ‘Do Dooni Chaar’ that was just recently declared last year’s National Award winner for Best Hindi Film.
The combined budget of films currently on Kareena, Ranbir and Rishi’s plate is an estimated Rs 240 crore according to trade website koimoi.com. What can possibly explain this family’s longevity? Says Neetu: “It’s a combination of coincidence and good luck. I suppose it helps that this family lives, breathes, eats and sleeps films.” Adds Rishi: “Each one of us had to bear the pressure of being the child of a famous star. Ranbir too had to deal with comparisons and expectations, but hats off to him for having withstood that and emerged as a star.”
So if royalty is a hereditary privilege then know this: it demands talent, distinctiveness and foresight for survival. The road to Bollywood stardom is lined with star kids who fell by the wayside. According to koimoi. com, the combined budget of Yash Raj Films’ four officially announced projects (not counting its new youth division) is approximately Rs 105-115 crore, but despite that clout, producer Yash Chopra’s son Uday remains a struggler who continues to depend on his home ventures for roles.
Veteran film journalist Rauf Ahmed recalls an interview in which the late music mogul Gulshan Kumar of T-Series told him, “If Amitabh can become a hero then I can make my brother a hero too—it’s just a question of marketing.” Readers from that generation will recall that Kumar tried his utmost to promote Kishen Kumar. GenNow readers are likely to ask: Kishen who?
Actor-producer Anil Kapoor insists that at a certain level, star kids have a tougher time than industry outsiders. “If you are not the child of a famous actor, the audience has zero expectations of you so whatever you do is a plus,” he says. But he also admits that being the child of a film family gives you an entry-point advantage: Sonam (one of those rare star daughters to get the backing of her parents) was able to pick up the phone to get an AD-ship with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and was well-connected in the industry long before she was introduced to the public.
That’s no minor benefit considering how insulated Bollywood is. So in an industry ruled by the Johar family of Dharma Productions, the Barjatyas of Rajshri Productions, the Chopras, the Bachchans, the Roshans, the Khans (Salman’s and Aamir’s families), the Kapoors and the Bhatts, one question arises: does the industry actively discourage non-star children?
Rafiq Gangjee, VP, marketing of YRF, reacts sharply to the question: “If Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Siddharth Mallya and the rest of the business family children are now at the helm of affairs, we say, ‘Wow! They have learnt from the best. They have it in their blood.’ Why can’t we extend this to our industry as well? While there is no conscious decision to keep non-star children out, yes it is easier for star children to get a break. After all, everyone first looks internally before casting out in any business.”
So the crucial challenge for any outsider is that first big opportunity. Some get it by making “a killer portfolio” and “shamelessly walking up to anyone I saw from the film industry just to introduce myself”, the way ‘Band Baaja’ boy Ranveer did. Some like youngster Arjun Mathur—who is currently attracting attention as the soldier who calls his wife from a remote location in a cellular service ad—make every effort to “stand out from the rest” by working in offbeat cinema (‘I Am’, the AIDS Jaago quartet) and getting visibility in the occasional supporting role in a mainstream film (‘Luck by Chance’, ‘My Name Is Khan’).
For them, SRK, Akshay and a majority of Bollywood’s leading ladies are beacons of hope. But of course, star parivaars are going nowhere. After the success of the Dharmendra-Sunny-Bobby-starrer ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’ earlier this year, Dharmendra will be seen with daughter Esha Deol in ‘Tell Me O Khuda’ directed by his wife Hema Malini. Just this week, Salman Khan—son of superhit writer Salim Khan, stepson of the legendary Helen, brother of successful-producer- director-but-still-struggling-actor Sohail Khan, brother also of successful-producer-but-still-struggling-actor Arbaaz Khan, brother-in-law of actor-director Atul Agnihotri, brother-in-law also to screen-scorching item girl Malaika Arora Khan—is in our theatres with ‘Ready’.
And coming up from producer-director Karan Johar is ‘Student of the Year’ which marks the acting debuts of Alia Bhatt (daughter of Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan) and Varun Dhawan (son of David Dhawan). Remember Raj Kapoor and Nargis in that rain song from ‘Shree 420’: “Main na rahoongi, tum na rahoge / Phir bhi rahengi nishaaniyaan (Even after you and I are no
more, our legacy will live on).” Gene Kelly might have called that Fortune Tellin’ in the Rain.
(Anna M M Vetticad is on Twitter as @annavetticad).
Also Read:
Star-child Syndrome?
We have been blessed being born in a film family
Ranbir Kapoor, on being a Kapoor