Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Opinion / All in the family
BackBack

All in the family

All in the family

Clannish: Kapoor (left) and Sharma in a still from Wake up Sid. Premium

Clannish: Kapoor (left) and Sharma in a still from Wake up Sid.

Wake Up Sid’s director Ayan Mukerji is from a family of actors and producers. Lead actor Ranbir Kapoor is from an even more famous clan of stars. Lead actress Konkona Sen Sharma represents Bengali art house royalty. Producer Karan Johar is a second-generation film-maker. Whatever else Wake Up Sid turns out to be, it will remain a truly representative snapshot of the star-family complex that has currently mesmerized Bollywood.

Wake Up Sid is the latest in a long line of films that features second- and third-generation actors and film-makers. Of course, it’s probably only a coincidence that the movie’s list of credits checks off four of Indian cinema’s most well-known surnames. Mukerji and Johar most likely cast Kapoor and Sharma based on their previous track records rather than their family trees. Yet it is increasingly difficult to escape the hold that biology has over destiny in Bollywood. Movies both big and small feature at least one relative of either a faded or an existing talent. Star kids are propelled into the galaxy with more fanfare than space missions. The law of the box office catches up with them eventually and many of them burn out, but they get the kind of launch that aspiring actors sweating it out in acting schools and television serials can only dream of.

Clannish: Kapoor (left) and Sharma in a still from Wake up Sid.

The Hindi film industry used to be a mythical place that welcomed outsiders with open arms. Star kids have always been around, from the days of Raj Kapoor, but there always seemed to be enough place for anonymous characters to make a name for themselves. The Kapoor kids were steeped so deeply in cinema that they couldn’t dream of doing anything else, but that’s why they were the Kapoors—they were special. Then everybody else decided to follow their example. The attempts by Sanjay Dutt and Kumar Gaurav to capitalize on their famous surnames in the 1980s must now be regarded as early signs of the Bollywood star-family complex. Whatever else you think of Shah Rukh Khan, he is remarkable because his ascendancy to stardom took place in the decade when Salman Khan and Aamir Khan, both children of industry captains, had already been put into orbit.

There is still a large degree of meritocracy among directors and writers who are not backed by well-known fathers and uncles. Contemporary film-makers tend to be urbane, well educated and the children of army officers or public sector bank officials. They bring to the job training and an outsider’s eye. However, the faces that light up the marquee often belong to star kids. It doesn’t seem to matter if the inheritance is dodgy or doesn’t match up to expectations. Anybody remember Mala Sinha’s daughter Pratibha? Or Manoj Kumar’s son Kunal Goswami? Why should we bet on Prateik Babbar or Imran Khan, neither of whom is a patch on his more famous relative? Yet there are enough success stories—Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor—for it to seem worth the risk.

There is so much surplus around these days that even if star kids don’t become A-listers, they can be accommodated lower down the pecking order. Flop actors such as Tusshar Kapoor and Fardeen Khan continue to hang around as second and third leads in multi-starrers—probably until they can replace themselves with their likenesses.

Wake Up Sid released in theatres on Friday.

Nandini Ramnath is the film editor of Time Out Mumbai (www.timeoutmumbai.net).

Write to Nandini at stallorder@livemint.com

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 02 Oct 2009, 09:15 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App