Nature or Nurture: Why Is Everyone in Bollywood Related to Each Other?
MUMBAI "The incipient release and trailer launch of "Hero," introducing Sooraj Pancholi (whose parents are Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab) and Athiya Shetty (daughter of Suniel Shetty) showcases filmi' bloodlines once again.
Hindi cinema has always been about dynastic rule really, what with the Kapoors, Chopras, Sippys and even the Nadiadwalas. The genetic factor continues even today, which is why every top outsider like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar or Rajkumar Hirani became akin to events in their trysts with fame.
Of course, there are three prime and related sources from where talents may come in and make headway: regional films, television and the ramp. In a way, even Shah Rukh Khan has come from the world of the small screen. But apart from those few who stay the course by coming out of nowhere, sans connections, bloodlines or mentors, most lasting film denizens tend to be burnished by both environment and chromosomes!
So if Varun Dhawan is considered the hottest of the GenY heroes, it is not surprising. Ranveer Singh also has had a circle of close industry friends and is Anil Kapoor's wife Sunita's nephew. Tiger Shroff and Arjun Kapoor come from film families, as do Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor. And after Priyanka Chopra made it big " even Parineeti Chopra.
So is this fruitful connectivity with the audience just acquired? Or is it inborn " or a mix of both? With the Kapoors (as in Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan) being into their fourth generation and many more clans into their third peedhi' in cinema, we are compelled to believe that genetics rule the roost and so create the environment that adds to it!
However, as has been proved for decades, the chromosomal setup provides only the impetus and the platform " luck and talent do the rest. Remember how Rajiv Kapoor could not make it and neither could Soha Ali Khan? So it is best that genes are not overtly flaunted. You cannot stake crores on sentiment, right?
But in today's world of twenty or more debut-making directors each year (when it took six or more years to get that much talent earlier), we have seen that, exceptions apart again, it is the bloodline that scores higher.
Ayan Mukerji, grandson of showman, producer, studio owner and one-man discovery channel, S. Mukerji, and son of one-time actor Deb Mukerji, may have made "Wake Up Sid!" a limited success, but his "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" remains Ranbir Kapoor and (one of) Deepika Padukone's biggest super-hits. The film's music was one of the finest scores in the last few years " akin to the cult musicals of his granddad that included "Paying Guest," "Tumsa Nahin Dekha" and many more.
Karan Malhotra, who directed "Agneepath" (2012), is the son of Ravi Malhotra, a bosom buddy of Rishi Kapoor and producer of his "Khel Khel Mein" and many more. Malhotra's Akshay Kumar's film "Brothers" is highly awaited, after which he will work with Varun Dhawan in the already much talked-about "Shuddhi."
Few know that Abhishek Varman, writer-director of "2 States," is the reticent son of veteran production designer R. Varman. And that Mohit Suri is from the Bhatt clan, a film family fathered by vintage filmmaker Nanabhai Bhatt of stunt films and devotionals fame, who was Mohit's maternal grandfather.
There are endless more examples as we go back a bit, but all we want to add is that Rohit Shetty, one of our highest-paid and successful directors for almost a decade now, also has cinema in his bloodline. Ditto Farah Khan, Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, Sooraj Barjatya, Rakesh Roshan and more, as well as actors Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Himesh Reshammiya and Sajid-Wajid.
Yes, the field has opened up to new entrants like never before, but we feel that this will lead to only one certainty: New film families will be formed!
Anupamaa
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