Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda to star in Sriram Raghavan film

Agastya Nanda, actor Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson, will be seen in a film called ‘Ikkis’ to be directed by Sriram Raghavan co-starring Dharmendra. The film co-produced by Dinesh Vijan is a war-drama based on the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal. Nanda will make his debut with Netflix original ‘The Archies’ to be directed by Zoya Akhtar. Raghavan is known for films like ‘Badlapur’ and ‘Andhadhun’.

To be sure, Bollywood has been at the receiving end of criticism against privilege granted to star children. Data sourced from movie and trade websites shows otherwise: of the 68 films released between 2000 and 2018 as launch vehicles for star kids, 46 bombed. The biggest disaster so far has been director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s fantasy romantic thriller ‘Mirzya’ (2016) that introduced actor Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan. The movie lost nearly ₹ 56 crore. Director Harry Baweja’s science fiction thriller ‘Love Story 2050’ (2008) that launched his son Harman Baweja, also lost ₹ 29 crore.

Without doubt, the single-biggest advantage of launching a star kid is ready buzz and curiosity around the film, eliminating the need to spend much on marketing.

While enough star kids in the past have proven that sitting equity in the form of an easily available movie debut doesn’t translate into a successful career, the likes of Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor and Varun Dhawan have now proven that delivering consistently can also ensure people eventually forget where you came from.

Also, enough people without film family connections have made it big to prove that privilege hardly matters beyond a point. Trade experts say people like Ayushmann Khurrana or films like Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety that worked with an entirely unfamiliar cast prove that what star kids may get is a couple of extra chances but ultimately it all boils down to talent when public time and money are at stake.