Bollywood’s generation leap

Her first brush with the spotlight was at the age of four when she played the young Preity Zinta in Sangharsh. At 19,Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan’s daughter Alia Bhatt awaits her big-ticket debut with Karan Johar-directed high school drama,Student of the Year,which releases on October 19. Reminiscent of stepsister Pooja Bhatt’s younger days,Alia apparently impressed Johar with her schoolgirl spunk. “She always had the determination to be an actress. But I can only judge her acting capabilities when I see the film. She looks good in the promos,” says father Mahesh Bhatt.

Athiya Shetty

The 18-year-old daughter of Mana and actor Suniel Shetty,Athiya is reportedly making her debut in Sajid Nadiadwala’s Heropanti,opposite Jackie Shroff’s son Tiger. Both Suniel and his wife have apparently been supportive enough of their daughter’s aspirations,and sent her for a course in acting and liberal arts at the New York Film Academy.

Sasha Agha

Pakistani singer-actor Salma Agha is her mother. Sasha Agha was awaiting the perfect platform to mark her film debut. Upon bagging a coveted role as the female lead in Yash Raj Film’s Aurangzeb,she decided to change her name from Zara to Sasha. She will soon be seen romancing Arjun Kapoor in the film. One hopes that her acting skills will be at par with the striking resemblance to her yesteryear actor mother.

Tiger Shroff

Jackie Shroff’s 21-year old son will make his debut in Sajid Nadiadwala’s Heropanti. The martial arts-trained fitness freak,Tiger wanted to be a sportsman and had even been advising Aamir Khan on fitness for his role in Dhoom 3. It is Khan who encouraged him to give Bollywood a shot. “He has a fantastic physique and has undergone intense grooming,he is being launched by one of the biggest names in the business. I think very few things can go wrong with Tiger Shroff’s Bollywood launch,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Sakshi Khanna

His two elder stepbrothers Akshaye and Rahul may not have had a Bollywood run as successful as their father’s,but Vinod Khanna’s son with his second wife Kavita is hoping to break the jinx. For the last two years,Sakshi Khanna has been preparing himself for the big screen. Apart from training himself in martial arts,the young Khanna studied at a prominent acting school. He is currently assisting director Milan Luthria,apart from brushing up his fluency in Hindi and diction. He has already been signed on to debut in one of the director’s future projects.

Varun Dhawan

Son of director David Dhawan and brother to director Rohit who made Desi Boyz,Varun’s foray into films was waiting to happen. Before making his debut with Karan Johar’s Student of the Year,Varun has done the routine brush-up with the movies — that of assisting his father as well as Johar in My Name is Khan. The 24-year old — who is said to be dating Alia Bhatt — has apparently left a favourable impression on Salman Khan who recently cheered Varun’s confidence.