Ranbir Kapoor to Harshvardhan Kapoor: The rise of the cinema-literate star kid

Bollywood and nepotism have been known to go hand in hand. And that in turn has ensured that the audience is subjected to some really, really terrible movies. Think Amjad Khan's son Shadaab Khan who made his debut alongside another newcomer Rani Mukherji. While Rani Mukherji recovered from the terrible debut, Shadaab went on to star in two more movies and faded forever.

Superstar of the 70s, Mithun Chakraborthy tried to recreate his stardom for son Mimoh through 3 different debut films and 2 names. He was 'launched' in 2008's Jimmy which exploded without ever taking off. He did 2011's Rocky which was supposed to be his blockbuster debut in Bengali cinema with a new name Mahakshay Chakraborty. No sizzle, only fizzle.

The new wave began with Hrithik Roshan's Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, where for a change the celebrity son wasn't looking like Bollywood had been shoved down his throat. Here was Hrithik dancing like no one had ever seen a Bollywood hero dance like before, he had biceps the size of 10-kg dumbbells. And he came across as someone sincere, who was trying to make the best of his abilities.

We saw that sincerity again in 2008's Saawariya, where Raj Kapoor's grandson Ranbir made his debut playing a character which seemed like a homage to his grandfather's famous tramp characters. Even though the movie didn't do very well, Ranbir caught everyone's eye and went on to make some really bold choices in the form of a Rocket Singh, a Barfi and a Rockstar. Ranbir, in spite of his recent failures, is still widely considered the best in his generation.

Even Aamir Khan's nephew Imran Khan trolled the 'typical' star kid debut in the first rushes of Abbas Tyrewala's Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na when he stood in front of a cardboard cut-out showing off a heavily worked out body. And then how he slyly comes out from behind it. Imran even spoke about how he was impressed with Ranbir and they caught up over a beer and exchanged compliments about each other's debut films.

We now have another great prospect in Mirzya's Harshvardhan Kapoor. Harshvardhan is the embodiment of the cinema-literate star kid who is way too focused, self-aware, well-read to take his career for granted. He is the latest produce of a generation which doesn't like to sit on it's posterior and wait for their career to take off. They have no ego in approaching directors, actors they admire, they are too well-travelled, well-read and exposed to different kinds of cinema to be happy doing the average fare.

This is a generation that knows it all too well, that if they get the 'star kid launch' without any proper training, or without honing their craft, they're going to be found out soon enough. Therefore, like Harshvardhan went to USC, Ranbir went to the Lee Strasberg School of Acting in New York, they believe in acting on their dreams of becoming movie-stars, they study film and have nurtured their dream all along. For Mirzya, Harshvardhan trained in horse-riding for over a year and a half to shoot portions of a warrior folklore, which shows him riding impeccably. He even trained using a bow and an arrow and from the teasers of the film, looks like he might have nailed that bit.

With Harshvardhan being signed on for Vikramaditya Motwane's Bhavesh Joshi and Sriram Raghavan's next, it almost comes as a sigh of relief to see a star kid actively seeking out experimental cinema with edgy content. Here's a generation, that has turned over a new leaf for the much abused luxury of nepotism. These actors make the most of their proximity to the Bollywood industry. They may not all pan out to become successful superstars, but at least the choices are more well-informed.