1 Bekhudi (1992)
Tanuja's daughter and Shobhana Samarth's granddaughter Kajol made her film debut with Kamal Sadanah, son of producer Brij Sadanah, in the love story directed by Rahul Rawail. Initially, the film was cast with Sharmila Tagore's son Saif Ali Khan, but he dropped out to do Yash Chopra’s Parampara (1992). Bekhudi wasn’t a financial success but that didn’t affect Kajol, who went on to star in Baazigar (1993) soon after. Sadanah turned to filmmaking after failing to make it as an actor.
2 Barsaat (1995)
Echoing the title of the Raj Kapoor-Nargis hit of 1949, director Rajkumar Santoshi launched Bobby Deol, son of Dharmendra and brother of Sunny Deol, along with Twinkle Khanna, daughter of Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia. Co-starring Raj Babbar and Danny Denzongpa, the film was an average hit. However, Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna won the Filmfare award for Best Male and Female Newcomer, respectively.
3 Prem (1995)
The long-delayed Prem was supposed to be directed by Shekhar Kapur. However, owing to some disagreements with the producers, Kapur walked away and was replaced by his former assistant, Satish Kaushik. Prem was the debut film for Sanjay Kapoor, younger brother of Anil Kapoor and son of producer Surinder Kapoor, and although Tabu, niece of Shabana Azmi, shot for this film first, Pehla Pehla Pyar (1994) ended up being her first release. Unfortunately for both, the reincarnation-theme film bombed at the box office.
4 Refugee (2000)
JP Dutta’s cross-border romance drama was the perfect star vehicle to launch two star children, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. As the son of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan and the daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita, Abhishek and Kareena carried the weight of immense expectations. Refugee held its own against another blockbuster Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai that released earlier that year and launched Hrithik Roshan, son of actor Rakesh Roshan and grandson of music director Roshan.
5 Saawariya (2007)
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s moody Saawariya was one of the first Hindi films to get a release from the Hollywood studio, Sony Pictures Entertainment. The film had the misfortune of going up against Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om (2007), starring Shah Rukh Khan and newcomer Deepika Padukone. Even the screen debuts of Ranbir Kapoor, son of Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, and Sonam Kapoor, daughter of Anil Kapoor, couldn’t rouse audiences. Fortunately for Ranbir and Sonam, they managed to survive and do well in the industry despite their disastrous debut.
6 Student Of The Year (2012)
Filmmaker Karan Johar took a big risk with his 2012 feature, Student Of The Year. Johar returned to direction after a two-year break to launch three newcomers. The film featured Varun Dhawan, son of David Dhawan, and Alia Bhatt, daughter of Mahesh Bhatt. Karan Johar’s gamble paid off as all three debutants, Varun, Alia and Sidharth Malhotra, are now sought-after actors.
7 Hero (2015)
Nikhil Advani directed this remake of Subhash Ghai’s blockbuster Hero (1983), which starred Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri. Backed up by star Salman Khan, who co-produced the film with Ghai, Hero showcased the children of two 1990s actors, Aditya Pancholi and Suniel Shetty. Starring Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty, the 2015 version did not become a hit like the 1983 film.
8 Mirzya (2016)
This October, the tradition of grand launches continues. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra presents his retelling of the Mirza-Sahibaan legend with Mirzya. The film will introduce Harshvardhan Kapoor, son of Anil Kapoor, and Saiyami Kher, granddaughter of Usha Kiron. If the buzz around their chemistry from the recent trailer is any indication, the two appear to be headed for stardom, just like their famous kin.