In the last few years, Bollywood has witnessed the launch of several newcomers - both industry kids as well as outsiders - who now constitute the Gen-Y brigade of actors. After cousin Janhvi Kapoor's big debut last year, we hear another member of the Kapoor khandaan is now prepping up to make her foray into Bollywood. Who's it? Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor's daughter Shanaya Kapoor.
The 19-year-old has been constantly grabbing headlines for a possible launch but there were no confirmations till date. Now, Shanaya has taken the usual road and turned an AD on Janhvi's next film which is a biopic on IAF pilot Gunjan Saxena. Daddy Kapoor has finally revealed the big plans to Pinkvilla in an exclusive chat. Sanjay tells us, "It's true that Shanaya is now in Lucknow and working as an assistant on Janhvi's film. It was a joint decision. She was very keen on doing something different to understand the space, rather than just wasting time. Before she wanted to take up a film, she didn't want to be abroad for a three-year-course. Instead, she chose something personal like this. Obviously, I'm always there to guide her. Nothing in life is better than experience."
The doting dad also adds that she has already begun prepping up for her big debut. "She is doing her acting workshops, her dance classes and other things that you need to do before you take it up as a career." Coming from a family that has several heavyweight names in the business already, there's a certain pedigree that star kids usually are trained with. But Sanjay feels life's much more than just that. "For me, I believe my kids need to also know that this is an extremely professional space and it isn't a cakewalk. Today, she is in Lucknow where it's 41 degrees. So it will be difficult and requires a lot of hard work. She might be from a film family and connections are easy but sustaining won't be easy. It's very tough to survive in this industry. I know it really well which is also why I made her go through this process of assisting. All the glamour is only an exterior thought, inside, it's a lot of hard work."
Glamorous look and style of @shanayakapoor02 stunning in @janashia_ suit
With the boom in digital media, the young girl has been a paparazzi favourite. In fact, stories about her wanting to be a heroine has been doing the rounds for the last three-four years. Sanjay rues, "We cannot change that. I can't stop people from writing it. At 15-16, people started talking about this. So it was all on basis of assumptions and presumptions. We never made a statement. We can't change the fact that she will get clicked wherever she goes. But yes, right now, I can definitely tell you that she's preparing herself for a career in movies."
There are murmurs that just like her cousin sister, Karan Johar is planning to introduce Shanaya into the movies as well. "There's no truth to that. She's just assisting on his production venture. She has not taken a call on anything yet. Yes, she's definitely getting ready for a Bollywood career. Hopefully soon, she must work hard and land a good film. We will all wait for that. I just want her to concentrate on this for now," the Lust Stories actor signed off.
