Unlike the traditional Bollywood template of flashy acting debuts, celebrity relatives are increasingly building loyal audiences on social media first and monetizing their personal brands before stepping into films, shows or mainstream entertainment projects.
Figures such as Riddhima Kapoor, who is set to appear in a film soon, and Krishna Shroff, recently seen in multiple reality shows, have leveraged the low barriers to digital content creation to build personal brands and attract collaborations with companies before taking the mainstream entertainment route.
Industry experts say the strategy is straightforward: a ready-made audience reduces marketing costs and lowers the risk attached to launching fresh faces in films and television. Instead of building visibility from scratch, producers and brands now rely on measurable engagement and documented fan bases.
Social-first fame
“These are individuals who may not have broken into mainstream acting or production, but they carry significant advantages: access, wealth, network, and a powerful surname. The barriers to content creation and distribution are lower, and they're leveraging that,” said Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and co-founder of digital marketing agency TheSmallBigIdea.
In many cases, this isn’t even about fame alone, Pillai added, but a broader content marketing exercise.
“They might be running a restaurant, a fashion boutique, or another business, and this becomes a compelling extension of that brand. This works because audiences get a space inside the living rooms of families they already admire. The A-lister connection, even as a relative in the background, does 10 times the work of traditional brand content,” he added.
Built-in reach
Calling the phenomenon a form of “strategic repackaging,” Supriya M. Kalla, assistant professor of marketing at IMI Delhi, said the shift is being driven by instant credibility, strong customer engagement and the ability to leverage celebrity legacy into commercial brands.
“These individuals have a strong social media presence and are frequently tracked by paparazzi, generating consistent earned media. They cultivate a personal brand that feels more relatable and accessible than traditional A-list celebrities, resonating with Gen Z audiences,” Kalla added.
For producers and studios, the appeal is both financial and cultural. Ekshita Arora, senior copywriter at digital marketing agency BC Web Wise, said audience interest is no longer speculative but measurable through engagement metrics.
“Social media traction has become a tangible way to measure the kind of engagement a celebrity relative is likely to command if cast or launched. It shifts decision-making from instinct to insight, significantly reducing the pressure on production houses to artificially build hype ahead of a debut. Instead, there is already a visible, engaged audience that can be tapped into,” Arora said.
However, Arora pointed out that the social-first pathway comes with limitations. Visibility and follower counts do not automatically translate into acting ability or long-term audience acceptance.
“If the ultimate aim is a seamless transition into acting, a large following offers reach, not skills,” she said, adding that questions around nepotism and privilege continue to shadow celebrity relatives. There is also constant scrutiny of both the individual and the broader “family brand.”
Beyond acting
At the same time, acting is no longer the singular aspiration for many celebrity families. Figures such as Ira Khan, Rhea Kapoor, Sameeksha Pednekar and Navya Naveli Nanda reflect a wider shift toward entrepreneurship, podcasts, newsletters, D2C brands and niche influence in areas such as sustainability, luxury lifestyle and mental health.
Sayak Mukherjee, co-founder of creator marketing agency Creatorcult and founder of digital marketing agency Brandwizz Communications, agreed that not everyone from celebrity families is necessarily targeting films anymore.
“Many are building strong individual businesses, whether it’s personal brands, lifestyle ventures, or long-term content ecosystems. Social media itself has become a full-fledged career, not just a stepping stone,” he said.
Still, sustaining relevance remains the biggest challenge, according to Brijen Desai, associate vice president at digital agency White Rivers Media.
“The primary challenge is sustainability because audiences built on family association require a distinct personal identity to remain engaged over time. Relatability has a ceiling, and consistent content output is demanding. The return on a social media audience is no longer measured only in screen credits but increasingly in brand equity and commercial ventures,” Desai said.