Actress Kiara Advani, who is celebrating her 29th birthday today, has a connection with actor Salman Khan, and was mentored by him and Karan Johar for a while, especially when she started out.
Salman Khan had reportedly guided Kiara during her initial days in the film industry. Kiara Advani and her family are not related to Salman; however, her aunt Shaheen Jaffrey was allegedly Salman Khan’s former girlfriend.
In fact, Kiara’s mother Genevieve Advani too had allegedly known Salman for many years, since the two of them grew up together in Bandra. It was Genevieve who introduced Salman to his alleged ex-girlfriend Shaheen Jaffrey.
During a previous interview with media sources, Kiara had revealed that her father Jagdeep Advani had been comforted by the fact that Salman Khan was part of the film industry, that he didn’t mind his daughter entering it because of this. She was quoted as saying, “When I decided to become an actor, my father told Salman sir, ‘If you are in the industry then I don’t mind my daughter being part of it. Let her try and see where it takes her (sic)’.” Kiara added that Salman too had been encouraging and told her that when she was “prepared, it (debut) will happen (sic).”
Furthermore, Kiara’s original name had been Alia Advani. However, Salman Khan pointed out that actress Alia Bhatt had already become popular within Bollywood, and urged Kiara to change her name. Kiara was quoted as saying, “Alia is my first name. Salman suggested me to change it because of Alia Bhatt because there can’t be two actresses with the same name in Bollywood (sic).”
We also have filmmaker Karan Johar, who helped Kiara by giving her some of the most significant roles she has played so far in movies. The actress said Karan Johar had also believed in her recognised her potential. She told media sources, “Karan Johar has been a godsend for me. He’s believed in me and my potential and saw something that no one else did. He has given me some of my career’s most defining roles so far. It began with Lust Stories and there’s been no looking back since then. My character in Lust Stories gave me wings to fly as an actor, to believe in myself and to take up challenging parts and surprise people. He’s had my back and I will always have a very special equation with him. He’s someone I love and respect deeply (sic).”
Kiara shares other connections with Bollywood celebrities through her mom. Genevieve’s step-mother is Bharti Ganguly, late actor Ashok Kumar’s daughter, which implies that Kiara is Ashok Kumar’s great-granddaughter. She is also the great-grandniece of actor Saeed Jaffrey.
On the work front, Kiara will next be seen in Shershaah, which will be released on August 12 on Amazon Prime Video. The movie is based on the life story of Captain Vikram Batra, who is considered a hero of the Kargil war.
Kiara made her debut with Fugly in 2013, and was also seen in 2016’s MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. The actress came into the spotlight after the Netflix anthology Lust Stories.