11 Famous Clans in Hindi Cinema

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Lata Mangeshkar was synonymous with Indian cinema even before Satyajit Ray and Amitabh Bachchan. Photo: Publicity Photo

The Netflix documentary, The Roshans, scheduled to be streamed from January 17, is a look at one of the most famous lineages in Hindi cinema: composer Roshan, actor-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, composer Rajesh Roshan and Hrithik Roshan, with Pashmina (Rajesh) Roshan being a new entrant. Our movies are replete with clans that have enriched its history, on-screen and off-screen, across generations. Here is looking at 10 more of the most famous clans, considering popularity and stature.

Dev Anand is an institution like his illustrious brothers Chetan and Vijay. Photo: Publicity Photo

THE ANANDS

Chetan Anand was the eldest brother in the actor-filmmaker-writers family and his first triumph was Neecha Nagar (1946), the first Indian film to gain recognition at a Cannes Film Festival—it shared the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (Best Film) award and remains the only Indian film to be ever awarded a Palme d’Or. His younger brothers were Dev Anand, among Mumbai’s legendary Top Three stars (with Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor), and Vijay Anand, considered one of our finest and most successful directors. The latter generations were not so successful, but the extended family includes Navin Nischol, a top star in the 1970s, and actor-turned-globally renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

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THE BHATTS

Producer-director Nanabhai Bhatt, who started off as a sound recordist and then writer, was the man behind several successful Hindi and a few Gujarati films. His sons were equally prolific: eminent writer-director Mahesh Bhatt (Arth, Naam, Aashiqui and many more) and producer Mukesh Bhatt as well as (from Nanabhai’s second wife) writer Robin Bhatt, known for movies as assorted as Aashiqui, Koi…Mil Gaya and Baazigar.

Mahesh’s daughters Pooja Bhatt and Alia Bhatt are again offspring from two wives—Alia being actress Soni Razdan’s daughter. Alia’s husband is Ranbir Kapoor. Nanabhai’s daughters, Sheila and Heena. have also been, respectively mothers to filmmakers Suneel Darshan (Jaanwar, Andaaz) and Dharmesh Darshan (Raja Hindustani, Dhadkan).

THE CHOPRAS

In the 1940s, lawyer-cum-journalist Baldev Raj Chopra came to Mumbai and turned filmmaker, getting his first tryst with fame with Afsana (1951). He soon rose to be a giant filmmaker with his banner, BR Films, becoming an institution (Naya Daur, Kanoon, Nikaah and many more). B.R. Chopra’s son Ravi Chopra also was a filmmaker and his wife Renu and son Abhay are following the profession too.

His younger brother, Yash Chopra, soon followed him and after assisting and later directing movies under the banner, like Dhool Ka Phool, Waqt and Ittefaq. He soon branched out to start Yash Raj Films, now the biggest banner in Hindi films, with his elder son Aditya Chopra also making a mark with his debut directorial, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and later as producer with films like Dhoom and the Spy Universe franchise like the Tiger, War and Pathaan series). Aditya has now married Rani Mukerji from the Mukerji clan. Aditya’s younger brother, Uday Chopra, did not succeed as actor but now looks after their global business.

Dharmendra heads the Deol clan. Photo: Rajiv Vijayakar

THE DEOLS

The man who arrived from the fields of Punjab and then wanted just “A flat and a Fiat (car)” soon became India’s heartthrob and the first He-Man. Excelling at action (Dharam-Veer), comedy (Chupke Chupke) and drama (Phool Aur Patthar), Dharmendra fathered the bankable Sunny Deol and later Bobby Deol. His second marriage was with Hema Malini, and their daughter, Esha Deol, is also an actress. His nephew, Abhay Deol, has carved a limited niche of his own and is Dharmendra’s brother, actor-filmmaker Kanwar Ajit Singh Deol’s son.

THE GANGULYS

This giant clan was led by Ashok Kumar, whose innings as actor from 1936 to 1998 (!) were marked by incredibly natural turns as hero and character artiste (Kismet, Kanoon, Aashirwad, Victoria No. 203). His younger brother, Kishore Kumar, was simply Hindi cinema’s greatest all-rounder—a top actor for long, a top singer for longer, and a writer-filmmaker-composer and more. The third brother, Anoop Kumar, did not get quite that level of fame, but was an accomplished actor nevertheless.

Ashok Kumar’s daughter, Preeti Ganguly, had her innings as a character artiste, and so did granddaughter Anooradha Patel. Kishore Kumar’s son, Amit Kumar, is considered a legend already as singer. Through his marriage, Ashok Kumar was related to the Mukerji clan (see Below). Kishore’s wives were actresses Ruma, Madhubala, Yogeeta Bali and Leena Chandavarkar, while Ashok Kumar’s son-in-law was Deven Verma, the noted comedian and filmmaker.

Prithviraj Kapoor was the patriarch of Hindi Cinema’s rightly-termed First Family—the Kapoors. Photo: Publicity Photo

THE KAPOORS

Rightly considered the first family of Indian cinema, the patriarch was none other than Prithviraj Kapoor, who acted from the silent (pre-1931) era all the way to 1971. He fathered three hallowed names—Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, each an icon. The Kapoors also hold the record for the highest in-clan number of Dadasaheb Phalke awardees—Prithviraj, Raj and Shashi. Raj Kapoor fathered Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor, while Randhir, who married actress Babita, is the father of future top stars Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Rishi Kapoor and actress-wife Neetu Singh are parents to superstar of today, Ranbir Kapoor, who has wed Alia Bhatt. Kareena is wife to Saif Ali Khan.

Aadar and Armaan Jain are also sons of Raj’s daughter, Rima. They are trying to make their places in the acting sun.

Shammi’s son (from actress-first wife Geeta Bali), Aditya Raj Kapoor and Shashi’s children (from British actress Jennifer Kapoor nee Kendall), Kunal, Karan and Sanjana, could not make it big in Hindi cinema. Raj’s extended family includes Premnath, Rajendranath and Narendranath besides Prem Chopra. And Prithviraj’s brother was noted actor Trilok Kapoor. Their father, Basheshwar Nath Kapoor, acted only once—in a cameo in Raj’s Awara. Premnath married Bina Rai and his sons are TV Czar Prem Krishan Malhotra and Monty Nath. Siddharth P. Malhotra, Prem Krishen’s son has directed Hichki and Maharaj.

THE SECOND KAPOORS

Surinder Kapoor, a producer (Hum Paanch, Woh 7 Din), was a cousin of Prithviraj Kapoor. His sons are producer Boney Kapoor (who later married Sridevi and fathered Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor), Anil Kapoor (whose children are actors Sonam Kapoor and Harshvarrdhan Kapoor and producer Rhea Kapoor) and Sanjay Kapoor, whose daughter, Shanaya Kapoor, is also set to make her screen debut. Through his wife, Anil is also closely related to Ranveer Singh!

Boney’s first wife was Mona and they are the parents of actor Arjun Kapoor. Mohit Marwah, also an actor, is the son of Surinder’s daughter, Reena, who was not into films.

THE MANGESHKARS

Lata Mangeshkar was a global name identified with Indian cinema long before Satyajit Ray or Amitabh Bachchan. She is the daughter of musician doyen Pt. Dinanath Mangeshkar, whose name and fame had very few equals on Marathi stage and in the classical domain. She reigned in Hindi cinema for over six decades and also sang in regional cinema and non-film albums. Lata also composed music and was a child artiste before turning singer. Her younger sister, Asha Bhosle, who later wed R.D. Burman, is another iconic name in Hindi cinema and Indian film and non-film music. Usha Mangeshkar achieved more in Marathi than Hindi films but is a respected name even in non-film music. The fourth sister, Meena Khadilkar, also sang in a few movies.

Last but not the least was their genius brother, Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar, who excelled as a composer (Lekin, Maya Memsaab) and was a brilliant singer both in Hindi and Marathi films and outside.

The Mangeshkar offspring, Asha’s children Hemant and Varsha, and Pt. Hridaynath’s children Adinath and Radha could not achieve their heights. Asha’s granddaughter Zanai is trying to find her footing now. The Mangeshkars are also closely related to the Kolhapure family of actress Padmini Kolhapure and her sister Shivangi’s daughter Shraddha Kapoor.

THE MUKERJIS

Producer and one-man ‘Discovery Channel’ Sashadhar Mukerji is the patriarch of the Mukerji family. His wife is Sati Devi, sister to Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Anoop Kumar. Known as S. Mukerji and the man behind Filmalaya Studios and Filmistan besides being an erstwhile partner in Bombay Talkies, Mukerji was known as the man who mentored giants like Shammi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Sadhana, filmmaker Nasir Husain and O.P. Nayyar.

His son, Joy Mukerji, also became a top star, though his other son, Deb Mukerji, was not as successful. However, Deb’s son Ayan Mukerji, is a big name today, having directed mega-grossers like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Brahmastra: Part One—Shiva. His other sons, Shomu (who married Tanuja and is father to Kajol and Tanishaa), Rono and Shubir were filmmakers. Rono is father to actors Samrat and Sharbani Mukerji, who were not successful.

Mukerji’s younger brother was filmmaker-writer Subodh Mukerji, while his nephew was filmmaker Ram Mukerji, who is the father of top star Rani Mukerji.

THE NADIADWALAS

They can be called the first family of filmmakers! Hailing from Nadiad Vadodara in Gujarat, the clan was headed by A.K. (Abdul Karim) Nadiadwala and brother A.A. Nadiadwala and A.K.’s sons A.G. Nadiadwala and Sulieman Nadiadwala. A.G. Nadiadwala’s sons are Feroz and Hafiz, while Sulieman’s son is producer Sajid Nadiadwala, a top name today. I.A. Nadiadwala and H.A. Nadiadwala along with Farukh Nadiadwala are also part of the family. Between them, the family has produced more than a hundred films between the 1950s and today! The prominent ones include Taj Mahal, Patthar Ke Sanam, Aa Gale Lag Jaa, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, the Housefull franchise and many others.

Incredibly, apart from Kick which was directed by Sajid, no one among them ever directed any movie!

Kajol (left) and her mother Tanuja. Photo: Publicity Photo

THE SAMARTHS

Rattan Bai was the first star (from the 1930s) who could be considered the fount here. Her daughter, Shobhana Samarth (married to director Kumarsen Samarth) was a major star, known best for Bharat Milap among her Hindi films. She was mother to Nutan (who bore a striking resemblance to Rattan Bai), and Tanuja, who later married filmmaker Shomu Mukerji from the Mukerji family again. Nutan and Tanuja remain major stars in Hindi film history. Nutan’s son, Mohnish Bahl, also is an actor and is married to actress Ekta. Their daughter is Pranutan Bahl, who is now trying to find her ropes in cinema.

Tanuja’s elder daughter, Kajol, remains arguably the last of the female superstars of Hindi cinema, and is married to Ajay Devgn. Her younger daughter is actor Tanishaa.