Actor Govinda seems to be unfurling quite a family tree of film denizens. Within two years of his debut in films with Love '86 (1986) , his brother Kirti Kumar turned producer-director with Hatya (1988) after having sung for his brother in his third release Duty (1986) and later in many other films as well.
In the millennium his nephew Vinay Anand appeared in films like Lo Main Aa Gaya and Dev Anand's Censor, his cousin Krishna Abhishek is a top Bhojpuri star today and his sister, writer-poet-anchor Kamini Khanna scored music for Ssukh, the actor's home-production with that odd spelling. Govinda incidentally has cut his own album of songs.
The latest entrant from the family is Ragini Khanna, daughter of Kamini Khanna, who makes her debut in NDTV Imagine's aspirational serial Radha Ki Betiyaa'Kuch Kar Dikhayengi that will go on air in January 2008.
Ragini's father is a producer, and brother Amit an actor. She has also done several print and TV ads. In Radhaa Ki Betiyaan', she plays the role of Ragini Sharma, an ambitious girl who aspires to be a super model, so that she can fulfill her dreams and see her family happy, rich and successful.
Says Ragini, 'I have grown up seeing my uncle Govinda on screen and have learnt a lot from him. Now, I'm all set to put my learning to use on my show. There is no melodrama, and it is a fresh concept to which a number of mothers and daughters can relate.'
Well, it's all in the family and genes. Govinda's father Ahuja was an actor and his mother Narmada a top singing-star and composer in the '40s. Quite naturally the children have inherited either music or histrionics ' or both.