THE RELATIVE VALUE
As Shraddha Kapoor wraps up a film with her brother Siddhanth, HT Café takes a look at other such familial partnerships in the offing
F or a long time, Bollywood has successfully pulled off stories about families. And such familial tales haven’t just worked on screen. Just take a look at the blockbusters that have hit the big screen thanks to collaborations within families such as the Kapoor clan (of the late Raj Kapoor), the Anands (led by the late Dev Anand) and the Kumars (starting with the late Ashok Kumar, late Kishore Kumar and others).
GREAT CHEMISTRY
In the coming days, a number films arising from such partnerships will be seen on the silver screen. Varun Dhawan has just wrapped up the London schedule of Judwaa 2, which is being directed by his father David Dhawan, and Akshay Kumar (right) has wrapped up his wife Twinkle Khanna’s (far right) maiden production venture, Padman. Shraddha Kapoor has also finished shooting for Haseena, which also stars her brother Siddhanth Kapoor.
Speaking about working with her sibling, Shraddha says, “It was amazing. Apu sir (director Apoorva Lakhia) was like, ‘I want you two to be exactly how you are [in real life], because I want that [same] chemistry on the big screen. And I hope it shows. There was a slight nervousness, but the good thing is that we are playing brother and sister, so that felt right.”
IT’S COMFORTABLE
Actors admit that it helps a lot when you know the person you’re working with “inside out”. Ayushmann Khurrana, who has produced wife Tahira Kashyap’s short film, Toffee, says it feels great that the two are “in the same space as far as work is concerned”. “She reads my scripts and I read her stuff. I think she is a brilliant director and has a great brain,” he says.
Among others, Arjun Kapoor and his uncle Anil Kapoor will be seen in Anees Bazmee’s Mubarakan, while Anushka Sharma will work again with her brother Karnesh Sharma for their next home production, Pari. In the coming days, Sonam Kapoor will work with sister Rhea Kapoor in their home production, Veere Di Wedding, while Alia Bhatt’s sister, Shaheen Bhatt, is writing the script for Aashiqui 3, which is set to star Alia in the lead. ■ prashant.singh@hindustantimes.com
A WIN-WIN SITUATION
Clearly, family ties seem to work big time on the silver screen screen, and the people from the industry agree. For instance,instan Anil calls Arjun a “fanfantastic” acactor, while Anushka says it “helps a llot” when youy work with a family member. She says, “I wouldn’t hhave done it [tuturned producducer] if my brotbrother wasn’t gettingetting involved, bebecauseecause I’m an actoactoror and I’m busy withh my otother films. BothBt off us have the samesa vision about ththe kind of films thatt we want to make and how we want to function. We trust each other the most. I knowk someone has ggot my back.” Experts also think thathat it’s a “win-win situsituation” when one teams up with their family. “There’s a lot of comfort anda the time limit to reach a coconsensus will be shorter, as ggenerally, you can talk and discuss a script or a film whenever you want. You don’t need appointments. Plus, the thought process and sensibilities are likely to be similar since they belong to the same family,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
HIGH BENCHMARK
Hrithik Roshan, for instance, was launched by his father Rakesh Roshan in the 2000 hit Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, and the two have worked together in five films, including their recent home production, Kaabil. The actor will also work with his father in the next film in Krrish 4.
Hrithik readily admits that when he works with his father, his performance “is at its highest level”. “I can be absolutely free to set the highest benchmark, because I know the producer will not stop me from doing whatever it takes to achieve the standard I have set in my head,” the actor says.