Agastya Nanda says the Bachchan-Kapoor legacy is not his to carry; Ikkis co-star calls him a liar, bully and complaint box

Ikkis box office collection day 1: The Agastya Nanda-starrer is based on the life of Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal. (Credit: IMDb)

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 the 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.”

Agastya Nanda’s mother, Shweta Nanda, is the daughter of Hindi cinema legends Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. Meanwhile, his father, Nikhil Nanda, is the son of Ritu Nanda, who is Raj Kapoor’s daughter—linking Agastya to two of Hindi cinema’s most influential film families.

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.”

Ikkis released in theatres on January 1. The film also features Dharmendra in a posthumous appearance, along with Jaideep Ahlawat in a pivotal role. Within five days of its release, Ikkis has earned Rs 20.72 crore at the domestic box office. Meanwhile, Dhurandhar, now in its fifth Monday, continues to hold steady. So far, the film has earned over Rs 1,200 crore worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time.