Born into Bollywood with a silver spoon

Are famous parents the only determinant of success in B-Town?.

Many Bollywood celebrities have been known to complain about how tough it’s for ‘outsiders’ to succeed in showbiz and what a cakewalk it is for star kids. Contrary to popular belief, however, famous kids too have to slog it out to win star status  — and it’s a journey where only a few succeed. The success to failure ratio of youngsters from film families just goes to prove that the legacy edge is nothing more than a myth.

Consider some of the actors who came riding on the shoulders of their family names: Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, and Shahid Kapoor, to name a few.

Only a handful like Hrithik (son of actor-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan), Kareena (daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and granddaughter of the legendary Raj Kapoor) and Farhan (son of writer and poet Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani) have sparkled on the film firmament and attained star status. The rest have bitten the dust despite the often persistent backing of their illustrious families.

Take, for instance, Uday Chopra, the son of Yash Chopra, a filmmaker with a magic wand who founded the prestigious Yash Raj Films (YRF) banner and created several blockbusters and catapulted the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan to superstardom.

The master craftsman couldn’t write the same success saga for his son, however, with his production ventures Neal ‘n’ Nikki or Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai.

Even in YRF’s successful franchise Dhoom, lead actors like John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan were seen eclipsing Uday.

This is strange, considering YRF is the banner that successfully launched rank outsiders like Ranveer Singh, Parineeti Chopra and Anushka Sharma  — three stars who are currently making waves in filmdom.

It won’t be wrong to say that Abhishek too met the same fate as Uday. Even at 71, Amitabh sets standards for all and sundry, but son Abhishek, who proved his mettle in highly appreciated films like Yuva and Guru, is yet to enter in to the same league.

The actor recently appeared on Koffee with Karan, and was quizzed by the director and host as to whether it was easier for him to gain a foothold in the film industry based on his legacy.  Abhishek replied, “I am blessed to be my father’s son. It is not a choice made by me. I will never be able to repay the debt,” according to Yahoo! India.

Interestingly, Bollywood’s most popular and beloved stars are from outside the industry  — be it superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar, or current reigning queens like Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra.

Yes, star kids do enjoy an advantage as they have easier access to the movers and shakers in Bollywood, but getting an easy entry into the industry and becoming a box office favourite are two different things  — the first clearly does not guarantee the second. Ultimately, audiences embrace talent.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2014.

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