Meena Iyer |
Three out of these seven hopefuls will be launched by Karan Johar. Jahnvi and Ishaan who are set to debut with the Hindi remake of Nagraj Manjule's Marathi hit Sairat will undergo rigorous training with language experts and a grooming team under KJo's tutelage. Their training will also involve lessons on how to deal with the media and duck the paparazzi.Meanwhile, buzz is that Sara Ali Khan who walked out of a Dharma Productions project may get back on-board after "differences" between her mum, actress Amrita, and Karan have reportedly been ironed out. There is no word yet on her first film.
Ahan Shetty is looking at a boot-camp similar to the one formulated by KJo. Last week, filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala, who gave Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon their debut hit, Heropanti, threw a party for Ahan Shetty, where bigwigs Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan were present to bless his protege. Sunny Deol is launching his son, Karan, in a Delhi-based film titled Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas. Hunt for a "16-20 year-old North Indian beauty" is on, while Aditya Chopra has signed on Aadar Jain, Ranbir Kapoor's first cousin.
Buzz is, said launch vehicles will range from high profile to moderately-mounted affairs depending on the pedigree of the newcomers. An estimated Rs 300-crore has been set aside in a "launch fund" for producers to guide the newcomers and talent management agencies to create stars out of them.
While this dynastic convention is gearing up for yet another crop of star kids, it comes as bad news for aspiring actors who don't come from filmi families since the industry's creative and financial bandwidth has already been exhausted on home turf. A trade source states, "Previously makers would at least look out for new heroines while the heroes were home-grown. Even that has changed in the last decade. The success of actresses like Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Sonam Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha is encouraging more girls from filmi families to take up acting."
Karan, who has emerged as the most sought-after godfather to aspirants after the debut successes of Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan in his Student of the Year (2012), says, "When I decided to launch Sid, Alia and Varun, it was a huge gamble. I had, till then, mostly worked with big stars. It was a new territory for me. But I'd made up my mind, and, with Reshma Shetty and Vivek Kamath (whose talent management agency works closely with him) supporting me, I took the plunge and today I feel like a proud parent.'' KJo clarifies that he is choosy about whom he launches. "For us at Dharma, it is not only about talent or destiny. It is about instinct and strategy. A lot goes into creating and nurturing new talent. I don't just invest in their careers; I also invest in them as people,'' he argues. What about the nepotism Bollywood is constantly accused of ? "I don't think there is much of a difference between industry kids and outsiders.Industry kids already know a lot when they make their debuts. So you have to get them to unlearn a bit, whereas you have to teach a few extra things to outsiders. But talent can be found on either side of the fence,'' KJo contends.
Sajid Nadiadwala begs to differ. "As a production house we don't just look to launch industry kids for outsiders.We develop scripts and then scout for actors. Tiger Shroff was cast in love stories that had a lot of action.Nobody could have done that better. In future too we will cast according to script," he asserts, but also adds that it can't be said that industry kids have no advantage over outsiders. "Why just industry kids", even people who are based in Mumbai have an edge over those coming from out of the city. But will all these factors stop a talented person from making it big here? No."
Neeraj Panday who made it in the industry without a filmi connection and recently gave Sushant Singh Rajput, another outsider, entry into the Rs 100crore club with the Dhoni biopic, also opines that there's no gulf between star kids and outsiders in the Hindi film industry. "The stakes remain the same whether you're an outsider or an insider," he says.
Outsiders who have made it big in the last three years
1 Ranveer Singh -Made a smashing debut with the 2007 surprise hit Band Baaja Baraat
2 Sushant Singh Rajput Seamlessly graduat ed from primetime TV to the silver screen with Abhishek Kapoor's widely loved Kai Po Che in 2013
3 Sidharth Malhotra Made his presence felt in launch vehicle along side star kids Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan in the 2012 KJo film, Student of the Year
Udne Ki Aasha
Kumkum Bhagya
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