The failure of Loveyapa starring Aamir Khan’s son and Sridevi-Boney’s daughter, warrants a closer look at how the Hindi film industry is foisting its progeny on the audience. Boney should have known better — brother Sanjay couldn’t make it despite the cherry-picked projects Boney had curated for him, including one with director Indra Kumar and heroine Madhuri Dixit in Raja (1995). But Boney’s famous manoeuvres that had helped brother Anil Kapoor didn’t work for Sanjay. Only after OTT platforms opened a plethora of opportunities could Sanju have an acting career.
The flopping of a debut film is not the indicator. It’s about the impact a newcomer makes. Vinod Khanna’s son Akshaye’s Himalay Putra (1997) tanked but out of the debris emerged an actor who’s still going strong. Watch him as Aurangzeb in Chhaava. He’s not around because he’s Vinod Khanna’s son.
Unlike Jahnvi, who works hard on her craft and her body, Khushi and Junaid don’t have star quality in appearance or performance. It betrays a taking-for-granted approach by their respective parents.
We’d seen this in 2000 when underdog Rakesh Roshan had worked hard on his son Hrithik, got him to tone up, polish his dancing skills, his acting and his dialogue delivery before he made the perfect package in Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai. On the other hand, Amitabh Bachchan’s son Abhishek had swaggered into films with extra weight on him, which showed up with multiplied effects on screen. It took Abhishek a while to realise that swag and surname did not guarantee stardom. He had to hit the gym. He had to read Hindi newspapers to get a hang of the language. He needed to work on his craft before he could be taken even a wee bit seriously.
However, Abhishek’s Refugee co-star had smartly worked on her appearance: Kareena had got herself a perfect set of teeth from a dental cosmetologist before she made her debut. Aware that a brilliant smile with an animated, chiselled face and body were winning requirements for a heroine, Kareena stepped into the studios so well prepared that 25 years later, her glamour still works for her.
When Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan turned hero in Tadap (2021), one had wondered why the emphasis on bodybuilding had not been matched by equal efforts at facial, emotional and dialogue delivery skills. A daddy overseeing a carefully promoted debut project cannot make a star if the packaging has insufficient content. Did Suniel think that because he in his lifetime had lasted and won respect as Anna, despite starting off as an unlikely hero, his son too would have the same bhagya?
Actors as experienced as Sunny Deol (sons Karan and Rajveer have been underwhelming as performers), Poonam Dhillon (daughter Paloma’s debut in Dono tanked), Ajay Devgn and Raveena Tandon (whose nephew Aaman and daughter Rasha Thadani’s chances sank with Azaad), have all been as cocky as Aamir-Boney in presenting their unprepared kids.
Tiger Shroff falls into a different category. His dancing and fighting skills are in a unique bracket. But ho hum, how long will the audience watch the Spiderman crawl up the wall and make quicksilver Michael Jackson moves if there’s no effort on the storyboard or on adding credible acting skills to his limited repertoire?
Zarina Wahab and Aditya Pancholi’s son Sooraj’s problems were compounded when his debut film Hero (2015) not only failed but he also got embroiled in the tragic death of his girlfriend Jia Khan. Sooraj will have a second chance with Kesari Veer: Legends Of Somnath, which also toplines Suniel Shetty.
Meanwhile, Saif Ali Khan’s son Ibrahim’s debut film Nadaaniyan has been safely parked on Netflix by producer Karan Johar. Will it be third time lucky for Khushi Kapoor?
