How Zahan Kapoor is following in the footsteps of grandfather Shashi Kapoor

Zahan Kapoor seems to be taking a different route from what star kids usually do in Bollywood. With films like Faraaz and series like Black Warrant and Bandwaale, he is focussed on strength of role rather than commercial hype.

Do star kids in Bollywood always need a grand launch, a blockbuster banner, and instant box-office pressure to prove their worth? Or can a legacy surname choose a quieter, more unconventional beginning?

There is something unusual about a Kapoor who hasn't arrived with fireworks, a chartbuster launch or riding a hundred-crore expectation. In an industry where surnames often come with a ready-made script, Zahan Kapoor seems to have taken an unlikely route. He is choosing off-the-track characters over the usual larger-than-life heroes.

Zahan is the grandson of Shashi Kapoor, and son of Kunal Kapoor, which probably explains his career decisions so far. His grandfather had balanced a successful mainstream career with a noted run in arthouse and offbeat cinema as an actor and filmmaker. Shashi Kapoor's critically acclaimed accomplishments include Junoon, Kalyug, New Delhi Times and In Custody.

Zahan's swing towards the offbeat perhaps owes itself to his grandfather's legacy, going by the young actor's three-act career so far: He started out with Hansal Mehta's gritty film, Faraaz, worked in Vikramaditya Motwane's series Black Warrant and is currently seen on the realistic musical OTT series, Bandwaale.

For most star kids from illustrious film families, the path is far removed from such choices as Zahan's at such an early stage. But then, Zahan choices could also have to do with his stint in theatre before the camera found him. Shashi Kapoor's love for theatre is well known – he built Prithivi Theatre along with his wife Jennifer. Zahan has imbibed that passion for the stage.

In turn, the theatre stint has shaped his choices for the camera. In Hansal Mehta's grim drama Faraaz, he stepped into the shoes of a young man caught in a real-life terror attack. The role demanded emotional restraint and moral complexity rather than filmy heroism.