1965. A pretty looking schoolgirl, a handsome boy with bollywood on his mind, and one train compartment. “It was an interesting love story. I was returning from Patna and there he was, sitting in the train, looking at me...love at first sight, actually more from his side...it was destined,” Poonam Sinha blushes as she rewinds the track to the first time she literally locked eyes with her ‘Sonu’, Shatrughan Sinha. Little did she know that Shotgun would aim right at her heart and she would be his forever. “And little did I know that I would act and meet him again!” Poonam, who made her comeback as Hrithik’s mother in Jodha-Akbar after 30 years, pulls a chair for us and runs the reel of time. As we watch her son Luv do the bhangra in front of the camera, she softly tells us how Luv went ahead himself and knocked on director Raj Kanwar’s doors for a role. “Here he is, debuting in Sadiyan with Fareena Wazir,” she eyes him with that mother’s pride. “Well, starry platform apart, I tell them to give their best shot and leave the rest to god, for it’s all destiny.” From modelling to winning a beauty contest, her first film Jigri Dost with Jeetindra and then Sabak with Shotgun, Poonam gave it all up for Luv Kush. “No regrets, but now, they’re all grown up and it’s time I do something.” She’s already revived Shotgun Films, and has offers lined up, “one with my husband too!” there, she blushes again! What about politics? “Well, it’s his domain. People who hail from UP and Bihar are politically inclined, so it was natural transition for Shatrughan ji to join it. It’s just right for him.” While the takes continue, Kush, with a camera on a sling, walks up and we get talking. Diametrically opposite to his twin Luv, Kush has gone on the maternal side, one which is behind the camera. “For the time being, it’s direction,” he’s already assisted Bhansali on Saawariya. “Acting too is a hobby, but this happened first,” Kush is the kind who would love to do a tragic love story, sci-fi or action drama. “Probably work with Yash Raj Films, more with Bhansali and yes, Gowarikar.” But why noe uncle Subhash Ghai? “That too. But as so called star kids, the mistake we make is expoect or demand a platform. I want to make it on my own.” So, it’s earn the right way now, and join politics later. Smart boy!
Meanwhile, Luv takes refuge behind a friend and plays this little game of “I’m not Luv, he is.” Well, well, who are you kidding lad? Finally, out of the shadows, Luv takes a step forward and sticks to a natural “but a well thought choice” - acting. “I want to focus on acting first, although my brother and I want to make films too, as a family.” After taking acting lessons from Roshan Taneja - “not the three month crash course” - Luv feels the skillset improves only with exposure and experience. “Watch Asian cinema, and you’ll know. English ranks a notch below,” someone’s done his homework! Quirky and witty, Luv would love to do a Vishwanath. “The transition from good to evil is fantastic,” while Kush stands by Kala Pathar. Ánything else? “Yup, I would also love to do a Baazigar. Definitely.” They have their mother’s looks, but totally miss out on their father’s rocksolid personality and that resonant voice. Oh, by the way, they were all here for the shooting of Raj Kanwar’s Sadiyan. It also stars Rishi Kapoor and Rekha, and is Luv Sinha’s - Shatrughan Sinha’s son - debut film.
