Agastya Nanda breaks silence on nepotism debate

Indian actor Agastya Nanda has addressed the long-running nepotism debate by sharing his perspective on the pressure of coming from a distinguished lineage.

In an exclusive interview with Sriram Raghavan and Simar Bhatia, the actor Agastya Nanda revealed that he prefers to focus on his own surname, “Nanda,” rather than coasting on the massive Bachchan-Kapoor legacy.

“I don’t take that pressure in the slightest because that’s not my legacy to own,” Agastya Nanda remarked. “My surname is Nanda because I am my father’s son first. I focus on making him proud—that’s the legacy I carry very heavily.”

The Archie’s star emphasised that while he deeply respects his family members for their decades of outstanding performances and their connection with audiences, he does not aspire to emulate them. “I admire their work, and I love their work. But I don’t think I can ever be them, so it’s not even worth spending time thinking about it,” he added.

Agastya’s lineage is notably prestigious: his father, Nikhil Nanda, is the son of Ritu Nanda (daughter of the legendary Raj Kapoor), while his mother, Shweta Bachchan, is the daughter of Amitabh Bachchan.

Last year, Amitabh Bachchan is overjoyed with love and pride as his grandson Agastya Nanda is making his Bollywood debut!

On Wednesday, October 29, the first trailer for the upcoming war biopic Ikkis was released, and Agastya Nanda immediately received a seal of approval from both fans and his grandfather.

Following the release of the trailer, Amitabh Bachchan rushed to his blogs to pen an emotional note for the son of his daughter, Shweta Bachchan, reminiscing about his early life days.

Sharing the action-packed trailer, he penned, “Agastya! I held you in my hands as soon as you were born. A few months later, I held you again in my hands, and your soft fingers reached out to play with my beard.”