It is not at all necessary to be the children of a mega actor or an actress only to be successful in Bollywood. There have been several A-list artistes who have attained the pinnacle of glory whose parents were part of the film industry but not popular heroes or heroines.
Hindi cinema’s superstar Salman Khan, for one, happens to be the son of Salim Khan who was a successful script writer of Hindi cinema but a failed actor. Like Salman, actor Farhan Akhtar's father Javed Akhtar had made his mark as a scriptwriter and lyricist. But both Salman and Farhan did not attain stardom because of their family connection.
Similarly, Ajay Devgn's father Veeru Devgan was a successful action director of Hindi cinema but always remained in the background. Still, Ajay Devgn made his mark as one of the most dependable actors with three National Film Awards under his belt.
Vicky Kaushal's father Sham Kaushal has also been a fight master who himself had a long struggle before getting a foothold in Hindi cinema. But when Vicky Kaushal stepped into Hindi cinema, no one was aware of his family background. He made his presence felt as a thinking actor by dint of hard work and dedication. He gave a brilliant performance in films like Masaan (2015) in his early days. Today, he has become one of the most talked-about actors of Hindi cinema.
Likewise, there have been many directors whose children have achieved great heights with their talent and dedication. Pooja Bhatt and Alia Bhatt, daughter of director Mahesh Bhatt, bear ample testimony to the fact that you don't have to have a superstar father to be a superstar yourself.
In the nineties, Pooja Bhatt won the hearts of the audiences with films like Sadak (1991), Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi (1991), Chahat (1996) and Zakhm (1998). A couple of decades later, Alia Bhatt also emerged as one of the most successful actresses. She rose to stardom with films like Highway (2014), Two States (2014), Udta Punjab (2016), and Brahmastra (2022), which established her credentials as a formidable actress.
Actress Raveena Tandon, the daughter of director Ravi Tandon, also achieved the status of a superstar on her own. Raveena, who became one of the the most popular actresses in the nineties, rose to fame because of her hard work and talent.
In recent years, actors Varun Dhawan and Arjun Kapoor became successful even though their fathers were also not star-actors. While Varun Dhawan's father David Dhawan was a successful director, Arjun Kapoor's father Boney Kapoor was a big film producer. Yet, Varun Dhawan and Arjun Kapoor did not make their debut in the films produced by their father.
Earlier, Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor made their mark in Hindi cinema with their talent and hard work, and not because of their producer father, Surendra Kapoor. The sons of Hindi cinema singers Nitin Mukesh and Udit Narayan also stepped into the field of acting. Neil Nitin Mukesh and Aditya Narayan did not seek the help of their father to become successful in their fields. All these examples prove that if you have talent, then an actor’s family background becomes immaterial.
