New-gen star siblings...

Karisma and Kareena Kapoor, Saif and Soha Ali Khan, Kajol and Tanishaa, Shilpa and Shamita Shetty — all of them, actors and siblings who made a mark in recent years. Cut to 2019, a new generation of siblings is raring to go in Bollywood, following in the footsteps of famous brothers or sisters. The difference is, the new breed is not necessarily foraying Bollywood as film actors. Many of them are not entering Bollywood directly, because getting the perfect launchpad is not always a possibility. Rather, they are first trying to grab public attention by appearing in music videos, magazine covers and ad-films, before testing Bollywood acting waters.  

Actress Kriti Sanon’s sister Nupur Sanon has just made her acting debut. Unlike her sister, however, Nupur choose a music video to introduce the audience to her skills. 

She featured in B Praak’s new music video, Filhall, along with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. While promoting the song, she was asked if she would debut as an actress, Nupur said: “Hopefully soon. I am glad that I took my time to do my first music video because I never ever dreamt that I would work with superstar Akshay Kumar in my very first project. I am going to wait for right opportunities. A lot of people approached me after seeing the music video but I want to take things easy..”  Nupur might be waiting for the right Bollywood acting opportunity, but actor Neil Nitin Mukesh’s brother Naman Nitin Mukesh has no interest in facing the camera. The suspense drama Bypass Road marked Naman’s directorial debut. 

“There’s never a hard-and-fast rule that a singer’s son must be a singer or an actor’s brother must only be an actor. For us, we take pride in the fact that the Mukesh family has been entertaining the audience since three generations — whether it is singing, acting or, now, directing. Creativity doesn’t come with parameters,” Naman said. 

Newcomer Sara Ali Khan’s brother Ibrahim Ali Khan was also one of the debutants of 2019. Ibrahim broke the internet with his magazine cover debut that also featured sister Sara, a few weeks ago. The photos from the shoot caught the attention of many, including actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who commented on Instagram: “Damn dem genes!” 

The news of actress Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabelle making her Bollywood debut had been doing the rounds for quite a while now, and earlier this year it was confirmed that she will be making her debut opposite superstar Salman Khan’s brother-in-law Aayush Sharma in the film, Kwatha. Isabelle isn’t a stranger to the public. Two years ago, she was announced as the face of a cosmetic brand and since then has been featuring in ads. 

“Keep your head down and work hard,” Isabelle had said when asked what advice her elder sister Katrina had given her before starting her career in films. —IANS