Agastya Nanda says the Bachchan-Kapoor legacy is not his to carry

After ‘The Archies’, Agastya Nanda made his theatrical debut with ‘Ikkis’, in which he played the role of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal. Around the release of both films, Agastya was often introduced not as a newcomer but as the grandson of Hindi cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan and a member of a family with connections to the Kapoors on his paternal side. However, in a recent interview, Agastya made it clear that he does not associate himself with either of those famous surnames. Instead, he asserted that his surname is Nanda.

During an interactive session with Sriram Raghavan and Simar Bhatia for ‘IMDb’, Agastya was asked about the pressure of coming from such an illustrious film family. Sriram asked him, “Because you come from such an illustrious family on both sides - legends, really - does that put a lot of pressure on you?”

Agastya was quick to dismiss the idea. He replied, “I don’t take that pressure in the slightest because that’s not my legacy to own. 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. My other family members - who are actors - 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.”

The session also featured light-hearted banter between Simar Bhatia and Agastya Nanda, with Simar jokingly calling him a bully, a liar and a ‘complaint box’.

Recalling their working dynamic, Agastya told Sriram Raghavan, “She is like those first benchers in school. She used to go back, study and make notes.” Simar quickly countered, “If I am a first bencher, then you are also a bully.”

Agastya continued teasing her, saying, “She would write down what she was going to say the next day, ‘This is my line’.” Disagreeing, Simar responded, “Absolutely not. You can’t do that in a movie with him,” referring to Sriram Raghavan.

Agastya went on to add, “She directs me when you’re not looking. During scenes, she would point at me and say, ‘Say the line like this’. And when we were dancing, she would tell me, ‘Keep your back straight’.” Laughing it off, Simar concluded, “You know what? You are a complaint box,” before adding, “Oh my God, you are such a liar.”