New-gen star siblings get innovative with showbiz entry
New Delhi: Karisma and Kareena Kapoor, Saif and Soha Ali Khan, Kajol and Tanishaa, Shilpa and Shamita Shetty — all of them, actors and siblings who made a mark in recent years. Cut to 2019, a new generation of siblings is raring to go in Bollywood, following in the footsteps of famous brothers or sisters.
The difference is, the new breed is not necessarily foraying Bollywood as film actors. Many of them are not entering Bollywood directly, because getting the perfect launchpad is not always a possibility. Rather, they are first trying to grab public attention by appearing in music videos, magazine covers and ad-films, before testing Bollywood acting waters.
Actress Kriti Sanon’s sister Nupur Sanon has just made her acting debut. Unlike her sister, however, Nupur didn’t choose a Bollywood film but a music video to introduce the audience to her skills.
Nupur featured in B Praak’s new music video, “Filhall”, along with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.
While promoting the song, she was asked if she would debut as a Bollywood actress, Nupur said: “Hopefully soon. I am glad that I took my time to do my first music video because I never ever dreamt that I would work with superstar Akshay Kumar in my very first project. I am going to wait for right opportunities. I am in talks with a few people but I haven’t signed anything as of now. A lot of people approached me after seeing the music video but I want to take things easy. This career for me is about longevity. I am in no hurry but I just want to be there for the longest time.”
Nupur might be waiting for the right Bollywood acting opportunity, but actor Neil Nitin Mukesh’s brother Naman Nitin Mukesh has no interest in facing the camera. The suspense drama “Bypass Road” marked Naman’s directorial debut.
“There’s never a hard-and-fast rule that a singer’s son must be a singer or an actor’s brother must only be an actor. For us, we take pride in the fact that the Mukesh family has been entertaining the audience since three generations — whether it is singing, acting or, now, directing. Creativity doesn’t come with parameters,” Naman, grandson of legendary singer Mukesh, told IANS.
“As for me choosing direction, after my ninth grade my father and brother would watch old films with me. It was then that I realised I was always fascinated and in awe of the actual execution of films. It’s one thing to sit and watch a film for two or three hours, but the years of work that it takes to make it happen is what drew me,” he added.
Newcomer Sara Ali Khan’s brother Ibrahim Ali Khan was also one of the debutants of 2019.
Ibrahim broke the internet was his magazine cover debut that also featured sister Sara, a few weeks ago. The photos from the shoot caught the attention of many, including actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who commented on Instagram: “Damn dem genes!”
There has been a buzz about Ibrahim taking the acting route, though it is yet to be officially confirmed. Their father, actor Saif Ali Khan, was once asked about Ibrahim making his acting debut. Saif was clearly open to the idea of his son — who almost looks like him in his younger days — to be an actor too.
“He should. He is looking good, better than I am! He is a charming guy. I definitely think all of my children would be interested in acting. We are an acting family — the whole bunch of us are in the industry. He’s still young and I’m keener that he does university first. Then, of course, we’ll support him in whatever he wants to do,” Saif told Hindustan Times.
The news of actress Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabelle making her Bollywood debut had been doing the rounds for quite a while now, and earlier this year it was confirmed that she will be making her debut opposite superstar Salman Khan’s brother-in-law Aayush Sharma in the film, “Kwatha”. Isabelle isn’t a stranger to the public. Two years ago, she was announced as the face of a cosmetic brand and since then has been featuring in ads.
“Keep your head down and work hard,” Isabelle had said when asked what advice her elder sister Katrina had given her before starting her career in films.
These youngsters might have opted for a path slightly different from their experienced siblings, but there are a few star siblings who are going directly to Bollywood. Actress Athiya Shetty’s brother Ahan Shetty is one of them. He will be making his Hindi film debut next year in Milan Luthria’s “Tadap”, a remake of the Telugu film “RX 100”.
Athiya earlier told IANS: “Ahan is younger than me but I treat him as an elder brother. I actually take advice from him. He is very calm and I admire that about him. I learn a lot from him. He is the most hard working person I know.”