From Jaane Jaan to Dostana: When parents and kids acted in movies with the same titles

By Rajiv Vijayakar -

September 21, 2023 - 2:07 PM IST

At one time, reportedly, Govinda would blindly accept a film whose title was the same as that of his idol, Dharmendra (Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya, Shola Aur Shabnam, Aankhen). But even more piquant is the case where stars and their progeny both feature in a different era in films that are named the same. Also, with English and Hindi being dissimilar in essence, the English spellings would often see a cosmetic difference, as we shall see!

From Jaane Jaan to Dostana: When parents and kids acted in movies with the same titles

So when I mentioned to Kareena Kapoor Khan that her father, Randhir Kapoor, had also acted in a film called Jaane Jaan in 1983 (interestingly co-starring her aunt Neetu Singh), she smiled and said, almost apologetically, “Yes, but the title fitted the story of my film!” Well, the earlier Jaane Jaan had been a box-office no-no!

Elder sister Karisma Kapoor followed on her parents Babita and Randhir Kapoor’s joint title: Jeet. The 1972 version, which was Randhir’s first outside film as actor, was a flop, but Karisma scored a hit of that name in 1996!

Karisma also starred in the 1999 success, Haseena Maan Jaayegi (note the double ‘a’ in the last word), an average grosser. Her mother Babita, two decades earlier, had done the hit suspense drama, Haseena Maan Jayegi (note the single ‘a’ this time!) with Shashi Kapoor, Babita’s uncle-in-law, as her hero! And in a twist of massive coincidence, the 1999 film was a rehash of Pyar Kiye Jaa, a 1966 cult comedy that also featured Shashi!

And speaking of the Kapoors, Rishi Kapoor’s 1992 blockbuster, Deewana, with hit music by Nadeem-Shravan, shared its title with the 1968 Raj Kapoor of that (Hindi) name, spelt as Diwana, which did not do well at all. But the two films had one common point apart from a Kapoor: hit music too, scored by Shankar-Jaikishan!

Two more films, both known for their hit music, were Raj Kapoor’s Sargam in 1950 and Rishi Kapoor’s blockbuster of that name in 1979.

Prithviraj Kapoor, the patriarch of the Kapoor clan, featured in a 1942 film named Ujala. The Shammi Kapoor movie of that name in 1959 was one of the earliest hits and breakthrough movies of his son.

Yash Johar, Karan Johar’s father, launched his banner of Dharma Productions with the 1980 super-hit Dostana. Amitabh Bachchan headed the cast with Shatrughan Sinha. 28 years later, Yash’s wife Hiroo and son Karan produced another film with two heroes, and this time, one of them was Abhishek Bachchan. The latter film did modest business.

Akshaye Khanna, that bankable actor, has done two films that share titles with that of his father Vinod Khanna’s movies. The difference is that both the Akshaye films, incidentally directed by Priyadarshan, were hits, and the Vinod Khanna films were both flops. They were Hulchul (1995 and 2004 respectively) and Hungama (1971 and 2003). Other than Vinod’s Hulchul, the remaining movies were comedies!

The third title the Khanna father and son team shared was Kudrat. This time both the 1981 and 1998 films flopped. Jeetendra and son Tusshar too have done a film each called Insaan / Insan (1982 / 2005), the latter spelt with a single ‘a’.

The Deols had a fascination for the name Dillagi. Dharmendra’s home production in 1978, however, shared its unfortunate fate with the Sunny Deol produced and directed 1999 film that the senior actor ‘presented’. It starred both his sons, Sunny and Bobby Deol. Dharmendra and Sunny Deol have both also done Teesri Aankh / Teesri Ankh—The Hidden Camera (1982 / 2006).

And then we come to Sunil Dutt and Sanjay Dutt, who shared a Gumrah (1963 / 1993) three decades apart, and Nehle Peh Dehlaa (Nehlle Pe Dehlla) in 1976 / 2007. The 2007 film was a calamity, but the rest did well. And last but not the least, Sunil Dutt co-starred with Rekha in the 1972 Zameen Aasmaan¸ while Rekha aptly played Sanjay’s mother in the 1984 movie!

Also Read: Kareena Kapoor Khan calls Jaane Jaan “moody thriller” ahead of its release; gives a peek into the “incredible journey” of playing Maya, watch