Pranutan Bahl: Learned acting by watching grandma's films

Pranutan and grandmother Nutan

Her grandmother Nutan is considered one of the finest actors that Bollywood witnessed. However, Pranutan, daughter to actor couple Mohnish and Ekta Bahl, is unperturbed about comparisons as she forays into B-Town with Salman Khan's production, Notebook. She is simply glad to be where she belongs - in the movies. "This is what I wanted to do all my life," gushes the star kid, who is the fifth generation in the industry.

While her great-grandmother Shobhna Samarth too was an actor, the youngster unsurprisingly says that she considers Nutan her idol. "My grandma passed away in 1991, before I was born. We have recorded all her films. My favourites are Sujata (1959) and Bandini (1963). In fact, I learned acting by watching her films."

Kajol

Pranutan is proud to have another powerhouse performer in her aunt, Kajol. Though there have been rumours of a rift since the families are rarely spotted together, she dismisses them as idle chatter. "She called to congratulate me after Notebook's poster released. We do meet at family functions. No one knows about it because, as a family, we are private and prefer to keep our get-togethers away from the paparazzi glare."

In an industry that is infamous for being nepotistic, detractors may believe that she had an easy journey from the audition hall to the big screen. But Pranutan argues it was an "exhausting" process. "I was called for an audition after the makers saw my pictures. It was a long audition that lasted over four hours. After 18 days, I got a call that I had been selected." Pranutan is glad to find a mentor in Khan. "I used to accompany dad on his shoots. So, Salman sir still considers me a kid. He told me to be honest to my work, and work hard."

Also Read: Exclusive - Pranutan Bahl on her entry in Bollywood: It's home ground for me

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