Agastya Nanda Prepares To Carry The  Bachchan Legacy Forward, More To Come

After Amitabh & Jaya  Bachchan, Abhishek & Aishwarya , a third generation of  actors  from the  Bachchan  clan are beginning their ascent  into  stardom .

Having been  signed  on by Zoya Akhtar to  play the male  lead in her indigenous adaptation   of the Archie  comics universe opposite  Sridevi’s younger daughter Khushi Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan’s  daughter Suhana  Kapoor, Agastya  Nanda, son of Amitabh and  Jaya Bachchan’s daughter Shweta, is being fully tutored  into  the art of facing  the camera.

Luckily  Agastya is a   fast learner.

Says a  source close to the  Bachchan family,  “Neither  of Agastya ‘s parents  are  actors. So he  is leaning on his grandparents  and his   Maamu(Uncle) Abhishek Bachchan  for guidance.  Agastya  has  always been  a big fan  of  his grandfather  and of  the Archie  comics. So he has the advantage  of being  a part of the  cinematic universe that  he will soon occupy officially,  even before facing the camera.”

One hears Agastya is  already getting several offers  from the  biggest banners.But he  wants to wait  until Zoya’s film cystalizes before thinking of  another project.

Zoya Akhtar’s  Archies adaptation is  not the only film  designed  to carry forward Bollywood’s  distinguished  dynastic tradition.From what one  hears Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s second-born Ibrahim(eldest  born Sara  is already an actor)  is  all set  for his screen  debut which is likely to happen in 2022(pandemic  permitting).

Apparently Saif wants Ibrahim to continue with his studies. But Ibrahim is keen to  get into his parents’ and sisters’ profession.This is  why we   now see the otherwise-shy  Ebrahim at so many film parties and  why he  is suddenly so  active  on  the  social media.One  hears of Karan Johar being  specially keen to  launch  Ebrahim’s career. But father Saif would rather have his son find his own  way into the  movies.

In an  interview with me some time  ago  Saif had spoken about Ebrahim, “Yes, he seems  prepared.  But I think he  should wait  a little  longer. He’s looking good. And he’s a  very gentle  soul . He’s secure in his space  and  a has a sense of  humour.”

Ebrahim’s sister while  speaking to  me on her brother’s  career plan had  once said, “He  does plan to be an actor. But as I’ve discovered, it’s an easy dream to have  but a very difficult  dream to achieve. But I feel Ebrahim has  the talent. Once he enacted  a monologue for my mother and I .I was holding the sheet of paper on which  his lines were written. I  couldn’t look at  the sheet , I was busy looking at his eyes. They were so  emotive.”

 Chunky Pandey’s son Ahaan  Pandey is  also expected  to be launched in  2022 by family-friend Karan  Johar. Chunky’s daughter Ananya  has  already been launched  in 2019. Govinda’s son   Yashvardhan  Ahuja is  also being groomed for stardom  by producer Sajid Nadiadwala  who launched Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan in 2021’s Tadap.

 Both Govinda’s daughter Tina and   Suniel Shetty’s  daughter Athiya  were unsuccessfully launched as actors some  years ago.Sometimes one  can gag on one’s golden  spoon.

Interestingly  Akshay Kumar’s  son Aarav  has no interest  in acting . He wants  to be a chef. Aamir Khan’s  daughter Ira  and son Junaid are  interested in  filmmaking rather than acting. Shah Rukh’s son  Aryan too wants  to be a  film director. The boy has made a short film . Those  close to Shah  Rukh who have seen it  feel Aryan has potential. But for now Shah Rukh has decided  to keep  his son away from the  entertainment  industry.

Shah Rukh Khan feels star-kids are  too envied to be deemed enviable. And he  may be right.