Stars in the making?

For the longest time, there has been speculation that a new generation of star kids will make an impact this year. The celebrity parents – well into their middle age – have already blessed their kids who have been signing high-profile projects.
Of course, a sizeable batch of star kids aren’t ready to make their screen debuts yet. It may be too premature to say this, but there is a good chance that Aarav, the 14-year-old son of Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna, is destined for stardom some day. So is Aryan Khan, the 19-year-old son of Shah Rukh Khan, whose photographs often go viral on social media. Both are yet to complete their studies and the final decision of joining showbiz will depend on the youngsters.
Nineteen-year-old Navya Naveli Nanda, the grand-daughter of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, attracts worldwide attention (call it scrutiny, if you like). It remains to be seen if Navya’s mother, Shweta Bachchan Nanda, will eventually give her the go-ahead in the future. Shweta has made it known that a film career is not a cakewalk; there’s always a downside to the patina of fame and glamour.
There are a lot of expectations revolving around the camera-friendly Sara Ali Khan’s debut as well. Ever since she came out of her teens, media has been playing the guessing game. At one point, there was talk of starmaker Karan Johar launching her with the second edition of Student of the Year, a film that firmed the careers of Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan.
Turns out that mother Amrita Singh apparently had second thoughts about the sequel. The buzz now is that Sara, a graduate from Columbia University, will foray into Bollywood in a romcom opposite Hrithik Roshan, who’s incidentally 42 years old. The film is to be helmed by director Karan Malhotra, who had directed the remake of Agneepath, with Hrithik stepping into the shoes of Amitabh Bachchan.
On the other hand, yesteryear’s action star Suniel Shetty has given producer Sajid Nadiadwala the charge of his 20-year-old son Ahan’s career; it’s useful to remember that Nadiadwala had charted the strategy to introduce Tiger Shroff in the stunt-packed Heropanti. Ahan, who has already been featuring in the gossip columns on being sighted at nightclubs and discotheques, is also likely to flaunt his gym-sculpted muscles on the big screen. His elder sister, Athiya, is currently attempting to find a foothold in Bollywood after her debut in Hero last year. Like Suraj Pancholi, Ahan is being backed as a winner by superstar Salman Khan.
Quite unexpectedly, during an awards show telecast, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, who were hosting the event, conveyed their best wishes for the success of newbie Mustafa, son of director Abbas Burmawalla, one half of the duo Abbas-Mustan. Mustafa, whose photos are already doing the rounds of social media, will star in the romantic thriller, Machine.
Regrettably, Raj Kapoor’s grandson Armaan Jain, son of Rima and Manoj Jain, couldn’t quite make an impact with the already-forgotten romcom Lekar Hum Deewana Dil. His brother Aadar Jain, however, may luck out since he has been signed on by YashRaj for a film to be directed by Habib Faisal, the man who had defined the careers of Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra with the much acclaimed Ishaqzaade. Aadar has studied acting at the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film institute and had served as assistant director to Karan Johar on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
Sunny Deol, in the meantime, has initiated a nationwide talent hunt to spot the leading lady to be cast opposite his son Karan Deol aka Rocky. He will apparently direct his son’s film, which is believed to be an update of Betaab, Sunny’s own debut film. A three-film contract from the YashRaj banner for Rocky was nixed, suggest reports that have neither been confirmed nor denied. Always averse to the media glare, Sunny has now started keeping his son away from the range of the paparazzi.
So, the family tradition of jeena-yahan-marna-yahan continues. May the force be with them.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com