Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor spoke about the craze around star children and how the press has contributed to it.
Actors Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan‘s son Taimur Ali Khan has been the cynosure of everyone’s eyes ever since he first made his public appearance. In fact, he is the favourite of the paparazzi. However, his parents do not instigate this attention, but believe that it is the audience and their fans who create this demand.
In an interview with The Film Companion, Saif got candid about the craze around star kids by bringing up the recently released film ‘The Archies’, which served as the launchpad of three star kids, Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and Agastya Nanda. The actor said, “The audience and people are so interested in star kids. I mean look at ‘The Archies’. They are constantly being photographed, constantly being followed. You have to decide what this attention is and where it comes from.”
He then gave an example of Taimur, and how people were photographing him when he was doing Taekwondo. “It’s on the internet. So, we don’t want that kind of attention. We don’t make the star kids. We make him biologically, but what makes the star kids is the press, the photographers, and the audience who perhaps quite innocently want to just see a star kid,” Saif said.
Kareena Kapoor reiterated her husband’s words and mentioned how this demand is actually created by social media and the frenzy of followers and likes. Adding how a famous surname doesn’t guarantee anything, the ‘Jaane Jaan’ actress said, “You might have a last name, but it doesn’t mean that you have talent or you will be successful. In terms of consumption and now with social media, you might get really excited. If you have 10 million followers and 30,000 likes, it doesn’t mean you are a star. You have to prove that. Your body of work has to.”
Kareena is herself daughter of veteran actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita while Saif’s mother is the veteran actress Sharmila Tagore. Both Saif and Kareena have mentioned a couple of times how the profession comes with a price to pay.