In Bollywood a new trend is emerging. The traditional approach of the big launch of star kids via big screen is history. For instance, Saif Ali Khan’s son Ibrahim Ali Khan’s debut film Nadaaniyan will be released on Netflix with the usual marketing drive. According to film historian Dilip Thakur, “Gone are the days when big launches would happen for newcomers or star kids; the last big launch was that of Hrithik Roshan…that was 25 years ago.” There is not going to be any superstar with the advent of OTT culture and GenNext seems okay with it. Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor’s film Loveyapa is their first theatrical release; both have already made their debut on OTT with Maharaj and The Archies. Junaid’s father Aamir Khan is going around promoting them. Unlike Janhvi kapoor, Khushi had a rather quiet launch with The Archies but her acting prowess was noticed. Both are somewhere sure that they have been accepted and therefore fine with it. Thakur says the business of cinema is all about the first weekend and that the game is over unless it is Pushpa or a Pathaan. Besides the exposure to OTT is more than the cinema and only spectacles are going to work in cinemas and the generation next knows it and is practical about it. Hypothetically, if they don’t make their cut in acting, the paparazzi culture has already made them influencers so they will be around in some form connected with Bollywood.
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