Success, on their terms

Kendall is not the only young offspring of a famous family, who has chosen to make her path, on her own talent and credentials.

While there are many who are only too willing to translate the opportunities their family connections bring them into greater fame and success for themselves, there are others who forego such a launch pad and prefer that their achievements be all their own. Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor is a case in point. The actor, who debuted in Ishaqzaade, could have used his producer father’s (Boney Kapoor) connections to land any big budget role he wanted. Instead, he contacted noted casting director Shanoo Sharma over Facebook. Shanoo recounted the incident to us in a previous interview, “Arjun came in, did his audition… I don’t think he even told his father for the longest time that he was meeting me. I remember the first time he called his father and said that I am with Yash Raj Films’ casting director it came as a complete surprise to Mr Boney Kapoor.”

Other star kids who chose to make it on their own steam are Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah’s sons Imaad and Vivaan. Vivaan has been in the news recently for his role in the Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer Happy New Year. As we have reported in this publication, his director Farah Khan was so happy with Vivaan’s performance that she sent a congratulatory note to Naseer and Ratna.

Naseer had told us that Vivaan didn’t request their help in getting the role. “We stayed completely out of Vivaan’s audition process. We wanted him to get the role because of his talent, not because of his parents,” Naseer said.

Throughout the glamour industry, many more such examples are available. Television is another space where many actors have chosen to make their own paths despite having famous relations or siblings who might make things easier for them. Mishkat Varma, the lead actor of Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, refused to take any help from his sister Mihika (who is seen in Yeh Hai Mohabatein) when he entered the industry. “I’m very proud and I never used Mihika’s contacts because I wanted to be successful on my own,” Mishkat says. “I admire Mihika because she works hard. But Mihika was not the reason I wanted to be an actor; it was always something I was passionate about.”