Some stars are comfortable having their kids in front of a camera. David Beckham and Tom Cruise, for instance, don’t mind sharing the limelight with their kids and neither does Sridevi, who is always seen with her daughters Jhanvi and Khushi at work-related and personal events. Aamir Khan, too, often takes his son Azad to the sets. “Aamir knows that if he resists, no one is going to listen to him. So it’s better to pose and make everyone happy,” veteran Indian photographer Pradeep Bandekar tells the Times of India.
A recent example of the world’s obsession with celebrity babies is the birth of Prince George Alexander Louis, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. There is a similar curiosity to see a glimpse of Shahrukh’s new born son AbRam.
But there are also those who go to extremes to protect their young ones. Michaela Jackson’s case was probably the most intense, as he literally covered the face of his newly born with a scarf so no one could catch so much of a look.
Akshay Kumar aka Khiladi Kumar, also seems to be quite protective of his children. He tries to keep his little ones – son Aarav and daughter Nitara – away from the camera as much as possible. Renowned film-maker Mahesh Bhatt’s daughter Alia Bhatt, who rose to stardom with her debut film Student of the Year, also admits that she was always kept away from the media. “Growing up, I was in my own world, away from everything. I guess my parents kept me away consciously knowing that one day, this is what my life would be,” she says.
Suniel Shetty, on the other hand, admits that he didn’t intend on keeping his children away from the limelight but it just happened. “I have brought up Athiya and Aahan as normally as possible, focusing more on their education which is most important. No special treatment was given to them,” Shetty told the Times of India. “But I am happy my daughter has chosen to act. And a fan following should be based purely on quality of work – it should not be a shortcut to success.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2013.
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