Twins Peak

After being in a boarding school in Kodaikanal for six years,the twins were separated when Luv moved to Thailand to study advertising,and Kush to New York Film Academy to study film direction. “But we knew all along we wanted to be actors,” says Kush who started off by assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Saawariya. He is now preparing for his own first film. “It is a period drama directed by Apratim Khare that envisages life in the 1800s; it deals with a boy’s relationship with his father,” he says with obvious excitement.

But before that there is Luv’s debut film,Sadiyaan by Raj Kanwar,which is almost ready for release. “It is a family drama with Bollywood-style song and dance,set in the 1970s,” says Luv,biting into a cream cheese bagel.

Luv says he is loquacious,while Kush is more of an observer. “During our growing years we looked even more alike,” says Kush. Luv adds wryly,“That’s because our mom made us wear identical clothes.”

However,it’s clear the twins are aware they need to carve out separate identities to survive in Bollywood. To begin with,they hang out in different circles. Kush says Esha Deol and Arpita Khan are his best friends from the industry. “We have similarities too; we like the same movies and dad’s best films according to me are Kalicharan,Vishwanath and Shaan,” says Kush,glancing at his brother. They acknowledge they’ve had it easy because of their background. “Still,the audience only cares about entertainment. So ultimately,we have to perform,” says Kush. Indeed.