NEW DELHI: On May 24, Arya Babbar turns 21. Does that make Ab ke Baras , released this week, a celebration of his coming of age? ''It's not just a birthday gift, it's my second birth,'' says the son of Raj and Nadira Babbar.
Was he echoing the storyline of the film which has reincarnation at its core? No, Arya was only hinting at the continuity of a tradition: that of acting. After all, his sister Juhi too turns an actress this year.
Not that Arya's acting for the first time. That was when he was 10. He acted with 30 other kids who had a picnic on stage as Ekjut theatre group presented Aao Picnic Chalen, its first children's play. ''I had to impress my mother, so I didn't forget my lines,'' Arya recalls with a twinkle in his eye.
In his cinematic incarnation, the cub actor starts in the lead role. ''I was always determined to start in a lead,'' says an unabashed Arya. ''But I've worked hard and groomed myself for it.'' His roster for the past year was thus packed with action practice under 'Dada' Bhiku Varma, dance with Saroj Khan, body language before a camera and delivery with Mom. ''She's made me read aloud every book and every script since I was 16.'' And what tips from Papa Babbar? Just one: ''Be true to your character, believe in him.'' Nothing on how to assess a script? ''That I'll learn from my directors!'' Arya is quick to add.
Raj Babbar, predictably, is the role model of Arya who joins the growing rank of second generation actors. Did it ever bother the son that Dad had started as a Bad Guy? ''Yes he started as a villain but remember? - in Insaaf ka Tarazu his was the lead role.'' Besides, Arya has no inhibitions about playing a baddie. ''I'd love to play any character, whether hero or villain, as long as it's a character in the lead.''
Only the other day another star son made a splash in the Company of bad guys. Has Vivek Oberoi's remarkable success doubled the challenge for Arya? Does he now have to live up to the reputation of his father as well as his contemporaries? ''On the contrary, I'm so happy that Vivek has succeeded in such a big way. It firms up my belief that a new actor can stand out with quality work.''
As for being a star son, the blessings far outweigh the negatives. ''We get a break far more easily,'' he says. But family and friends can only give them a platform. ''Once we're before the camera, we have to prove ourselves. And if we don't have it with us, we won't survive.''
From where Arya views it today, the world's full of roses. Even before he'd made his debut, he'd been signed for four projects.
