The paths of these two stars have intersected on several occasions due to their association with the luxury brand Bulgari
entertainment3 hours ago
The year that's about to conclude may not have been particularly remarkable for what are termed "sensational debuts". Come 2018, though, the Bollywood star club is expected to be abuzz with newcomers.
At least four of the upcoming first-timers are already sparking news on every social media website and newspaper. Every little breath they take, every moment they are seen in public - be it at a swishy restaurant, gymnasium or at Mumbai's airport terminal - is monitored avidly.
The paparazzi simply loves them. And going by their swelling fan following, particularly on Instagram, their bespoke Bollywood launch projects are more than likely to induce whopper ticket sales during the key opening weekend. Inevitably, the marketing - read publicity - strategy is carefully calibrated to make them the next big things in the star firmament.
Not surprisingly, all the four top candidates for stardom belong to film families. Now before you bring up nepotism, let me just say that issue will always remain open to an inconclusive debate. For sure, a visa to Bollywood has been relatively easy for scores of star kids down the decades. Yet, many of them have faded out unceremoniously, since they couldn't effectively assert either their acting calibre or strike a palpable screen presence. Moreover, odious comparisons with their forebears have been endemic.
Suffice it to say, then, the newbies have to prove they can do justice to the opportunities assigned to them. The audience can sometimes be absolutely ruthless when a star son or daughter doesn't measure up to the great expectations.
I'm not making a case or apologising for star kids. It's just that the phenomenon has been as old as the medium of cinema itself, whether you're tracking the star systems of Bollywood or Hollywood.
Without much ado, here's over to the foursome who will make their bid for fame and fortune in the rarefied realm of Bollywood next year.
Ishaan Khattar
The 22-year-old son of theatre and TV actress Neelima Azeem, and half-brother of Shahid Kapoor, has already earned laurels - the Best Actor Award at the Bosphorus Festival in Istanbul - for his first adult role in Iranian auteur Majid Majidi's Beyond the Clouds, set in the Mumbai slumsides. As a child actor, he had co-starred with Shahid in Mahesh Manjrekar's Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi (2005), a feather-light drama that went under the cracks at the box office.
He has also served as an assistant to director Abhishek Chaubey during the filming of Udta Punjab (2016), which featured Shahid Kapoor in an award-winning role.
Ishaan's big ticket to Bollywood, Dhadak, is being produced by star-maker Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, and has commenced shooting in Udaipur. Writer-director Shashank Khaitan, who gave Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt their hit flicks Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) and its follow-up Badrinath Ki Dulhania earlier this year, has adapted the obstacles-strewn love story from Sairat (2016), the highest grossing Marathi film ever. Intensely dramatic and replete with several departures from the hackneyed formula stuff, here's a film that promises to pack in an emotional wallop.
Janhvi Kapoor
The 20-year-old daughter of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor teams up with Ishaan in Dhadak. The coming-of-age role of a high-caste girl who elopes with a down-at-heel boy demands a certain complexity, as well as the downplaying of the glamorous quotient mandatory for a debutante. Auspiciously, Janhvi has chosen to take this tough route, although she could have easily been introduced by her father who has a production banner of his own.
Coached at the Lee Strasberg Institute of Theatre and Film, Los Angeles, Janhvi is known to be a confident girl, who wasn't rattled by rumours linking her with the grandson of a politician. Undoubtedly, once Dhadak is released on July 6, it will be asked if she has the super-heroine qualities of Sridevi. The answer to that, of course, will be determined by her performance as a girl who opts to defy the societal norms over the cocooned lifestyle of landed aristocracy.Traditional?????????? . . #jhanvikapoor #bansarajha#saraalikhan#ananyapanday#jhanvikapoor#alannapnday#banitasandhu#love#instagood#me#tbt#cute#follow#followmephotooftheday#happy#tagforlikes#beautiful#self#girl#picoftheday#like4like#smile#friends#fun#like#fashion #followus @jhanvi_kapoor_official @jhanvi_kapoor_official @jhanvi_kapoor_official @jhanvi_kapoor_official @jhanvi_kapoor_official
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