Ollywood's star children on big screen now

What’s common between Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Abishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Babushan, Barsha Priya Darashini and Budhaditya? All of them have been born into filmi families and in most cases, it was expected of them to take up acting as a career.
While the proximity to the industry from the beginning is an advantage, one wonders how today’s Ollywood is warming up to these star children when they tried their luck on the big screen.
Records say that it has been a mixed bag of success for them and their journey was and is being guided by their family members who are in this industry for along time.
Though they have had the privilege of getting in-house tips on how to survive in this competitive industry, it’s not been a cakewalk for any of them. The concept of accepting a star son in the industry has undergone a sea change from what it was a generation ago.
Today, the audience doesn’t accept these actors easily for just being the children of famous celebrities. Their performances become the yardstick of their acceptance. Deepa Sahoo was one of the most successful stars of black and white era. Her daughter, Barsha, is also doing well for herself thanks to her hard work.
“My mother, Deepa Sahoo, has inspired me lot to became an actor. She is my friend, philosopher and guide. I have always tried my level best to improve myself in each of my film. For me, the audience is god. Only for their support I have reached this place. My mother supports me fully. Still now, before doing any film, she scrutinizes the story and the script and then gives her permission.”
Babusan, the son of actors Aparajita and Uttam Mohanty also reached his success through lots of hard work. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he is enjoying much more success than what his father had done during his heydays.
When asked about his journey, Babusan says, “Yes, I am proud of my parents. Without their blessings it would not have been possible on my part to make my place in Ollywood.”
The journey of actor Malabika’s son, Budhaditya, can also be a matter of envy to others. Budhaditya lived in Mumbai and trained himself professionally to be an actor. He has done many Hindi serials before joining his own industry.
However, the same logic does not hold true in the case of actor Puspa Panda’s daughter, Anuva. She is the latest entrant to Odia cinema and hasn’t yet been able to warm up to the audience with her debut. Anuva isn’t the only one.
In this decade, a plethora of such stars made their debuts which didn’t meet with success. Suraj Nayak (Pintu), son of veteran producer Basant Nayak, was launched in a big way. Unfortunately, it has been nearly a decade for him in the film industry and he is yet to become a name to reckon with.
Even producer Subas Rout’s son, Sandeep, has been unable to establish himself as a hero though he did contribute greatly when he was a child artiste. It was a similar story for director Sisir Mishra’s sons, Sagar and Samir. Sagar had been introduced as a hero in “Suna Palinki” while Samir essayed the role of a villain in “Sabatma” (directed by Sisir Mishra). Neither managed to come up with a cracking performance.
Says veteran director Hara Pattnaik who introduced Barsha nad Babusan in films, “In odisha no one will be able to became an actor without the blessings of Lord Jagannath. It is well known that Lord Jagannath possesses Sholakala (sixteen kala), out of which those who never possess a single kala, he or she may not became an actor. It does not matter whose son or daughter they may be.”
Ashok Palit