Launching the launch: Will Bollywood forgive Aryan Khan if he doesn't want to be the next SRK?
There’s hardly any difference between the expressions writ large on the faces of these two sets of parents:
One, the middle-class engineer-parents when they come to know that their kid wants to become a Bollywood actor/singer/filmmaker.
Two, when Karan Johar comes to know that a star kid he has had his eyes on for so long (to launch) doesn’t want to be part of the glamour world!
Bewilderment! Shock! Dismay!
After all, log kya kahenge?
While the first scenario is an everyday affair, the second scenario is not too far-fetched either.
This is not a Karan-slamming, nepotism-bashing piece, because finally, we have come to that point of gritty realisation that nepotism will always remain in Bollywood, just like in any other profession, and no one can launch a newbie like Karan Johar can.
But what if the ‘kid’ doesn’t want to be launched?
According to reports, Shah Rukh Khan, being the cool father that Bollywood movies could never imagine, has expressed some doubts about whether his son, Aryan Khan, wants to portray a ‘like father, like son’ example at all. Instead of becoming an 'SD' (Star Debutant) straight away, Aryan, who might want to be a filmmaker, may probably like a softer launch as an 'AD' (Assistant Director) with Karan.
We of course can’t deny the fact that we are interested in 21-year-old Aryan Khan, who is pursuing a film direction course in the University of Southern California, because he takes after his father. Bollywood can easily afford one King Khan and another prince Khan. Thus, Karan Johar was reportedly planning to launch 'godchild' Aryan and Khushi (Janhvi Kapoor’s sister) together.
We are waiting to see more of Aryan — the same way we had waited for the sons of Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Pankaj Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan, et al, to be launched.
We want to see whether these star kids are as good (or as bad) as their fathers or mothers, because they are all born to privilege, have foreign degrees, and then come back to Bollywood to join the Karan Johar club.
So, now that Janhvi Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan and Ishan Khattar have successfully debuted, and a few more, like Ananya Pandey, are lined up, we want the discourse to focus on Aryan Khan, Suhana Khan (SRK’s son and daughter respectively), Ibrahim Khan (Saif Ali Khan’s 17-year-old son), Aarav Kumar (Akshay and Twinkle's son), Nysa Devgn (Ajay and Kajol's daughter) until it ends up at Aradhya, Abram and of course, Taimur.
By then, another generation of star kids will safely have arrived.
But not every star kid wants to become a star, just like not every doctor-kid wants to grow up to be a doctor. But then, there are social pressures — log kya kahenge — and in Bollywood too, there are stories of cherished ambitions being thrust at several star kids.
Urban legend suggests that Kajol, for example, didn't really want to follow in the footsteps of Tanuja. She wanted a salaried job, which would come with a paycheque at the end of every month. That didn't quite happen. Similarly, it is rumoured Boney Kapoor’s son Arjun Kapoor was happy being behind the camera. But, as fate (read, Bollywood pressure) would have it, he is now out there, in front of the camera.
We don't know how these apparently unwilling people succeed like they do, because we were always told that if you are not happy doing something, you won't do it that well.
But thus go most of the 'behind-the-launch' stories of Bollywood, because haar kar jitne wale ko hi baazigar kehte hai.
Also Read: Will we still love Taimur, AbRam and Aradhya when they make their Bollywood debut?