Bollywood Dynasties

The Kapoors of Bollywood: The Kapoors are arguably India's foremost filmi dynasty. Patriarch Prithviraj Kapoor pioneered the theatre movement and started out as a screen actor in the silent movie era. His legacy was carried on by sons Raj, Shammi and Shashi. All three became superstars in their own right in Bollywood. Shashi Kapoor married English theatre person Jennifer Kendal and took over Prithvi Theatre, founded by his father.

Raj Kapoor's sons made up the third generation of Kapoors in Bollywood. Eldest son, Randhir had some ups and mostly downs as an actor and married actress Babita. Middle son Rishi Kapoor became a critical and commercial darling and married fellow screen star Neetu Singh. Rajeev, the youngest, was generally unsuccessful as an actor and went out with whimper somewhere along the way.

Related by marriage were others among Bollywood's brightest - Shammi Kapoor's first wife was popular actress Geeta Bali who died of smallpox after they'd been married 10 years. Geeta Bali was the only Kapoor bahu not to give up her career post-marriage. Geeta Bali's niece was actress Yogeeta Bali who was to marry singing legend Kishore Kumar. Raj Kapoor's wife Krishna Devi's brothers were screen villain Premnath and funnyman Rajendranath. Premnath married leading lady Bina Rai. Actress Sadhana also claims a connection with the Kapoors - her cousin, Babita, is Mrs Randhir Kapoor.

Keeping the Kapoor flame burning today are sisters Karisma and Kareena, Randhir's daughters, while Rishi and Neetu's son Ranbir is the newest kid on the block.

The Bachchans are a dynasty in the making. Now-superstar Amitabh married then-superstar Jaya Bhaduri before he acquired his icon status. They produced hottie Abhishek who helped things along by marrying Bollywood biggie Aishwarya. With that lineage generation three can be nothing less than astonishing. Hurry up already, Ash and Abhi!

Writer Salim Khan can take credit not just for Bollywood's defining moment with Sholay but also for musclebound bad boy Salman Khan. Occupying a lower rung in the Bollywood hierarchy are sons #2 and 3, Arbaaz and Sohail. Girl power ups the ante in the curvaceous forms of twinkletoes Helen, Salim Khan's second wife, and firecracker Malaika who is married to Arbaaz. More filmi inroads - Malaika's sister is starlet Amrita Arora and former actor Atul Agnihotri is married to Salim Khan's daughter Alvira.

Producer-director brothers Nasir and Tahir Hussain, between them, gave Bollywood blockbusters like Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Teesri Manzil, Caravan and Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. Tahir's elder son Aamir and Nasir's son Mansoor were both launched in their respective careers as actor and director with super-duper hit Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Tahir's younger brother Faisal also made a failed attempt at an acting career with box office dud Mela. Current hot property Imran, the son of Nasir's daughter, has inherited Aamir's acting gene. Aamir is married to director Kiran Rao. Aamir's cousin is former actor Tariq Khan who appeared in Yaadon Ki Baaraat as one of the three brothers. As a child Aamir made his first movie appearance playing the younger version of Tariq in the film.

Stars collided when superstar Rajesh Khanna married nubile debutante Dimple Kapadia. That ended badly but they did have 2 starlet daughters, Twinkle and Rinke. Neither act any more but Twinkle is married to Akshay Kumar and it's entirely possible that their son, Aarav, might follow them into the family business when he's all grown up. Dimple's sister, Simple Kapadia, also had a shortlived career on screen.

Marriages produce strong alliances in Bollywood, as the Khans and Roshans prove. Brothers Feroze, Sanjay and Akbar enjoyed varying degrees of success on screen and off. Generation two continued with Feroze's son Fardeen and Sanjay's son Zayed. Their place in filmdom was cemented when Sanjay's daughter married superstar Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik's father is Rakesh, sometime actor and now director. Composer Rajesh Roshan is Hrithik's uncle.

The Pataudis are also a fledgling dynasty - screen star Sharmila Tagore married former cricketer Tiger Pataudi and had three children, two of whom chose to fill her shoes in filmdom. Son Saif Ali Khan's nosediving career was resurrected in Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai. Daughter Soha Ali Khan's career graph is unsteady right now. Saif was married to actress Amrita Singh and has 2 children with her and he's currently dating Kareena Kapoor - so lots of potential for a third generation of film stars.

Perhaps the largest family, connected by marriage, is that of the Samarths who married the Mukherjees who married the Devgans. Yesteryear actress Shobhana Samarth was the daughter of silent movie star Rattanbai. Her daughters were the very talented Nutan and Tanuja. Tanuja married Shomu Mukherjee and their daughters Kajol and Tanisha continue the family business today. Nutan's son, Mohnish Behl, also had a degree of success on screen, courtesy the Barjatyas.

The most famous of the Mukherjee brothers was actor Joy who appeared in Love in Shimla with Sadhana. His brother Deb Mukherjee had little luck as an actor and brother #3 Shomu married Tanuja and produced Bollywood darling Kajol. Their cousin Ram Mukherjee founded Filmalaya Studios and is the father of Rani Mukherjee. Bengali actress Deboshree Roy is Rani's maternal aunt. The Mukherjees are also connected to the Ganguly family - Kajol and Tanisha's grandmother was the sister of Ashok, Kishore and Anoop Kumar.

Ajay Devgn married Kajol, making the Devgans the most recent relations by marriage of the Samarth-Mukherjee clan.

The Akhtars-Azmis share a strong filmi alliance. Writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar married first wife, screenwriter Honey Irani. Their children are actor-director Farhan and director Zoya. Wife #2, Shabana Azmi, among India's most talented actors, is the daughter of lyricist and writer Kaifi Azmi. Cinematographer Baba is Shabana's brother and is married to actress Tanvi Azmi. Actress sisters Tabu and Farah bring up the rearguard - they are nieces to the Azmis.

The heartlands of Punjab met the beautiful South when Jat Dharmendra married Tamil Hema Malini. Garam Dharam's sons from his first marriage, Sunny and Bobby, make up the second generation of Bollywood among the Deols while Hema's daughter Esha brings up the rear. Also in the family are Deol nephew Abhay and Hema Mailini's niece, actress Madhoo.

Anil Kapoor's family are related to the Raj Kapoors. His father, film producer Surinder Kapoor, is a cousin to brothers Raj, Shammi and Shashi. He started out in Bollywood as secretary to Shammi's first wife, actress Geeta Bali. His three sons are all part of Bollywood - Anil is a very successful actor, Boney is a film producer and Sanjay is also an actor, albeit far less successful than elder brother Anil. Boney Kapoor is married to former superstar Sridevi. Generation next is represented by Anil's daughters Sonam, Tinseltown's most fashionable face, and producer Rhea.

The Mangeshkars are an old and illustrious filmi family. Musician and actor Deenanath Mangeshkar was the father of songstresses Lata and Asha, and composer Hridaynath. Asha married uber-composer R D Burman, son of the equally famous S D Burman. Former actress Padmini Kolhapure and starlet sister Tejaswini are nieces to the venerable Mangeshkars. The third Kolhapure sister is married to actor Shakti Kapoor.

Not as powerful as other filmi clans, but a clan nevertheless, are the Babbars. Raj Babbar was a moderately successful actor. His first wife, Nadira, is a respected theatre person and also made an appearance on screen as the larger than life mother in Bride and Prejudice. Second wife, the luminous and talented Smita Patil, died tragically from childbirth complications just weeks after giving birth to son Prateek who is an actor himself now. Raj and Nadira's children, Arya and Juhi, are also making their presence felt on stage and screen.

The Chopras and the Johars wield immense power behind the bright lights of Bollywood. B R Chopra produced movies as well as made Mahabharat, among TV's most successful serials ever. His brother Yash founded Yash Raj Films which gave Bollywood some of it's biggest blockbusters including the Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, directed by Yash's son Aditya. Nephew Vidhu Vinod Chopra aso became a respected filmmaker and married film writer Anupama. B R and Yash Chopra's sister Hiroo married producer Yash Johar. Their son is director and TV anchor Karan Johar. The only actor among the lot is Yash Chopra's younger son, Uday.

Bhatt brothers Mahesh and Mukesh form the first generation of a family that makes up a section of Bollywood on it's own. The Bhatts direct, star and compose music for all their movies. Mahesh's daughter, Pooja, had the beginnings of a successful screen career in the '80s but then moved to the director's chair. Son Rahul took the reality TV route on the latest season of Bigg Boss. Mahesh Bhatt's current wife is former actress Soni Razdan. Soni's brother Karan is a former actor - Disco Dancer, anybody? - turned director. Bhatt nephews Emraan Hashmi and Mohit Suri also enjoy a measure of success in Bollywood.

Superstars Nargis and Sunil Dutt fell in love in the filmiest way possible - he saved her from a fiery death on set. Their son, Sunil Dutt, made a good start in Bollywood with his debut film Rocky and then hit a slump as his career was mired in drugs and underworld related controversy. The Munnabhai franchise gave him a new lease of life in B-town. Sanjay Dutt married starlet Richa Sharma, who died of cancer soon after. His sister Namrata is married to failed actor Kumar Gaurav, son of former actor Rajendra "Jubilee" Kumar.

The Gangulys are among filmdom's most creative, except that none of the family use that name. Brothers Ashok, Kishore and Anoop Kumar carved out strong identities in cinema. Singing legend Kishore married a series of actresses - screen beauty Madhubala was his second wife till she died of heart disease, he then married and divorced actress Yogeeta Bali and finally Leena Chandavarkar. Amit Kumar, his son from his first marriage, is a moderately successful singer. Ashok Kumar's elder daughter married comedian Deven Verma. His grand daughter is actress Anuradha Patel, who's married to actor Kanwaljit.

Kapoor is the most popular family name in Bollywood but Jeetendra's family is not related to the Raj Kapoors or the Surinder Kapoors. Jumping Jack shot to fame with movies like Caravan and Parichay. His daughter Ekta spearheaded the saas-bahu trend on television while son Tusshar has a lukewarm career on the big screen. Nephew Abhishek directed Rock On and also made a foray into reality TV as a contestant on season 2 of Khatron Ke Khiladi.

Serious cinema is represented by Naseruddin Shah who married actress Ratna Pathak. Ratna's mother, Dina Pathak was a respected actress herself, and sister Supriya was a very popular face on the small screen as well as big. Supriya Pathak married actor Pankaj Kapoor who's son by first wife, actress Neelima Azeem, is actor Shahid Kapoor. Naseer and Ratna's son Imaad has a burgeoning acting career.

Evergreen Dev Anand is the best known face of the Anand brothers, the eldest of whom was producer-director Chetan. Younger brother Vijay was also a well-known producer, director and actor. Dev Anand married actress Kalpana Kartik and had a son, Suneil, who entirely failed to match his father's success. Director Shekhar Kapur is nephew to the Anand brothers and his wife Suchitra Krishnamoorthy is a singer and actress. Making his way in Bollywood is Shekhar's nephew, actor Purab Kohli.