Ten Bollywood films featuring debutant couples

Sanam Teri Kasam, Harshvardhan Rane, Mawra Hocane

New Delhi: Romantic drama Sanam Teri Kasam that released last week brought together actors Harshvardhan Rane and Mawra Hocane in their Bollywood debut. Hindi cinema, however, has quite a history of cashing in on the appeal of debutant couples, especially for love stories. While many set box office records, it is interesting to see the disparate trajectory that the careers of the two actors take after the famous (or in some cases, infamous) debut. Equally noteworthy is that many of these fresh faces were backed by star parents. Here’s a look at 10 couples that made their debut together.

1. Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia: Legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor directed son Rishi Kapoor (who had earlier won the national award for best child artiste for his father’s Mera Naam Joker) and 15-year-old Dimple Kapadia in Bobby, the trend-setting teenage romance, the first of the many rich-versus-poor conflict-driven plots. The film was the biggest hit of 1973 with net box office collections of ₹ 6 crore. Kapoor went on to become one of the greatest romantic icons of his time, while Kapadia married superstar Rajesh Khanna during the making of the film itself, only to return a decade later with movies like Saagar (paired opposite Rishi again).

2. Kumar Gaurav and Vijeta Pandit: Megastar Rajendra Kumar launched his son Kumar Gaurav along with newcomer Vijeta Pandit in a film aptly titled Love Story (1981). Earning close to ₹ 7 crore at the box office, the musical blockbuster directed by Rahul Rawail provided the debutants with a promising start, but both failed to do anything substantial thereafter.

3. Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh: Long before he became the ultimate action hero, Sunny Deol made his film debut in old-fashioned love story called Betaab (1983), co-starring Amrita Singh and directed by Rahul Rawail. The film was one of the biggest hits that year with earnings of ₹ 5 crore. While Deol’s career needs no recollection, Singh too is remembered for her vivacity down to her character roles in recent releases like 2 States.

4. Manisha Koirala and Vivek Mushran: The two newcomers were directed by Subhash Ghai in Saudagar (1991), an action drama that featured veteran actors Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar as embittered childhood friends. The film celebrated a silver jubilee with collections of ₹ 6 crore and catapulted Koirala to stardom and projects like Bombay, Dil Se and others. Mushran took to television after some unsuccessful films.

5. Bobby Deol and Twinkle Khanna: Dharmendra launched younger son Bobby Deol in a love story called Barsaat (1995), co-starring Rajesh and Dimple Khanna’s daughter Twinkle and directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film, though severely delayed, was an average grosser with earnings of ₹ 11 crore. Deol went on to do several successful thrillers but has lately been lying low. Khanna, on the other hand, married actor Akshay Kumar after a brief movie stint and is now a popular interior designer, columnist and author.

6. Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel: Enormously successful romantic thriller Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai (2000) directed by Rakesh Roshan marked the film debut of current superstar Hrithik Roshan along with Ameesha Patel. The film netted close to ₹ 36 crore at the box office and immediately put the actor on top of the game. Patel too followed with a couple of hits but had to eventually take to multi-starrers and supporting roles.

7. Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor: Filmmaker J.P. Dutta launched the careers of Amitabh Bachchan’s son Abhishek and Raj Kapoor’s grand-daughter, Kareena in Refugee (2000), a romantic period drama. The film made ₹ 14 crore at the box office and both have mostly managed to build on the promising start with interesting roles and decent hits over the years.

8. Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor: Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story White Nights, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya brought the two star kids together in a high-profile debut. The film earned ₹ 24 crore, besides plenty of brickbats, but gloriously launched the careers of both actors. While Ranbir was much appreciated for his last release Tamasha, Sonam will soon be seen in Fox Star Studio’s Neerja.

9. Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon: Romantic actioner Heropanti (2014) marked the Hindi film debut of Jackie Shroff’s son Tiger along with newcomer Kriti Sanon. The film directed by Sabbir Khan made good returns on its investment with collections of ₹ 52 crore. While Shroff will be seen in the same director’s Baaghi to be released later this year, Sanon last appeared in Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale.

10. Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty: The newest kids on the block were launched by Salman Khan in Hero (2015), a remake of the 1983 Subhash Ghai film by the same name. Directed by Nikhil Advani, the romantic action film made about ₹ 33 crore at the box office. Neither Pancholi nor Shetty have confirmed any future projects yet.

All figures have been sourced from movie websites Bollywood Hungama and IBOS Network.