Aryan Khan’s debut reminds internet of this star kid – Similar plot, cameos, and family links; Find out who

Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's firstborn, Aryan Khan, is all over the news as he made his much-awaited debut in Bollywood. Donning the director's hat, Aryan Khan released his first show, The Bads of Bollywood, now streaming on Netflix.

Aryan Khan’s debut reminds internet of Zoya Akhtar

Amid the positive reviews for the show, eagle-eyed viewers were quick to point out resemblances to Zoya Akhtar’s directorial debut.

Her 2009 film, Luck By Chance, draws parallels between the two projects. Not just the plot, but both are filled with Bollywood cameos. Both Akhtar and Khan managed to pull the strings for their debut projects, largely thanks to their family connections.

Similarities between Luck By Chance, The Bads of Bollywood

Zoya Akhtar, daughter of Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, sister of Farhan Akhtar, stepped into Bollywood as a filmmaker. Her directorial debut, Luck By Chance, was backed by Excel Entertainment, the banner co-owned by her brother.

Similarly, Aryan Khan, son of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, ditched acting for now. Unlike Suhana Khan, he has made his debut as writer-director with The Ba**ds of Bollywood*. The show is produced under his mother’s banner, Red Chillies Entertainment.

Both films revolve around struggles in the film industry.

Luck By Chance explores the life of a struggling actor trying to find his footing in Bollywood, highlighting his dreams, compromises, friendships, rejections, and the lucky break that changes his life.

Interestingly, The Ba**ds of Bollywood* follows the journey of an aspiring male actor, delving into themes of ambition, personal sacrifice, and the ongoing tug-of-war between insiders and outsiders in the industry.

Cameos in Luck By Chance, The Bads of Bollywood

Luck By Chance starred Farhan Akhtar in the lead. The screenplay was helmed by Javed Akhtar. It had many big names who made cameo appearances.

It included Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, John Abraham, and Ranbir Kapoor in fleeting scenes. Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, and Javed Akhtar, alongside Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, played more extended roles, winning the hearts of the audience.

On the other hand, the biggest highlights of The Bads of Bollywood were also the cameo roles.

Shah Rukh Khan stars as himself, also narrating the story.

The show stars three Khans of Bollywood together – Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.

Emraan Hashmi, Ranbir Kapoor, Badshah, Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Sara Ali Khan, SS Rajamouli, Disha Patani, Orry Awatramani, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Rajkummar Rao, Neelam Kothari, Bhavana Pandey, Seema Sajdeh, Shalini Passi, Shanaya Kapoor, Maheep Kapoor, Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover and Ranjeet also starred in cameo roles, adding to the frenzy around the show.

Reddit reacts to comparison

Someone shared the similarities on Reddit and wrote, “Similarities between Zoya Akhtar and Aryan Khan's directorial debuts.”

Debating on it, a user wrote in the comments, “Pls. Luck By Chance is an exceptional movie with a very very nuanced take on stardom.” “Aryan Khan one is Whacky Just like Studio and thats also an interesting take,” another supported Khan's show.

Someone also commented, “Yeah they are similarities, but Zoya hit it out of the park with Luck By Chance.. The movie was not so much about the lead actor as it was about Sona's character. It made the heartbreaking truth very clear that the you can be the most hard working and talented actor on the planet, you can be overlooked entirely, and someone with the right 'luck' can make it big. Aryan seems to be all about irreverence and fun and nothing is supposed to be taken seriously.”

“Meta humor is the best. Literally everything bad in it be it writing, acting or dialogues however cringe can be attributed to the genre of the show itself,” added another.