Born on March 10, 1993, Pranutan Bahl is the daughter of actor couple Mohnish Bahl and Ekta Sharma. Hailing from a family belonging to a film fraternity, Pranutan is the fifth generation in the industry. Her great-great-grandmother Rattan Bai was an actress-singer, her great-grandmother Shobhna Samarth was an actor-director-producer, her grandmother Nutan is considered one of the finest actors that Bollywood witnessed. Nutan's sister Tanuja, who is also an actress, is Pranutan's grandmother, and Kajol and Tanisha are her aunts. (All photos/Pranutan and Aarti Bahl's Official Instagram account)

Pranutan considers Nutan as her idol. "My grandma passed away in 1991, before I was born. We have recorded all her films. My favourites are Sujata (1959) and Bandini (1963). In fact, I learned acting by watching her films," she told mid-day in an interview.

Pranutan, who is a double graduate in law, followed in her illustrious family's footsteps by making her debut in 2018 with the romantic drama Notebook. Salman Khan, a close friend of her father-actor Mohnish Bahl, took the youngster under his wing.

In an industry that is infamous for being nepotistic, detractors believed that she had an easy journey from the audition hall to the big screen. But that's not the case.

"I don't believe in this concept of getting opportunities based on anything but your deserving criteria. I don't understand this logic. If there is a process, which is that you want to be an actor, there are thousands of casting offices in Mumbai," said Pranutan.

Talking about how she bagged her debut film - Notebook, Pranutan said, "I was called for an audition after the makers saw my pictures. It was a long audition that lasted over four hours. After 18 days, I got a call that I had been selected."

Further making a striking comment, Pranutan said, "Go to those offices and see if you are worthy of being in front of the camera. Just because it's in your lineage and in your genes, it doesn't mean that there is an entitlement. Even if you get that opportunity because of your connection, what's going to happen in your second and third film? The talent has to be squeezed out. I have never done that. I have never told my dad till date to make a call for me, whether it's for an audition or a meeting or anything else."

Given her impressive lineage, sky-high expectations surrounded Pranutan Bahl even before her debut and it still does exist. However, she is undeterred by the inevitable comparisons that follow her. She said in an interview, "My parents have taught me to be honest to my work. I know that there will be certain expectations. I promise to work hard to garner the same love and admiration that the audiences showered on my grandmother and father."

Pranutan Bahl always wanted to become an actor. "I always knew movies were my calling. I did believe that completing my education up to a certain point was important. But I knew that I would end up in films," she said.

Her dad Mohnish Bahl is even today recalled for his performances in Sooraj Barjatya blockbusters such as Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! and Hum Saath - Saath Hain. Discussions on cinema is a natural thing.

"Papa and I discuss a lot about films at home. It is basically a healthy discussion. He advises me on what I can do to improve myself. He made me learn how important is it for an actor to act on the spot and to understand the character graph fast. Earlier, we never had such discussions but since my debut we both have started discussing work at home," she said.

"We have a very transparent relationship. Despite having a soft corner for me, he criticises too, if he finds something wrong.. We never use filters while talking with each other. We always try to stay honest with each other," Pranutan added.

Though Pranutan was a lawyer by profession, her passion for acting led her to not pursue law and choose acting. Despite having family support, Pranutan did not choose the easy way. She did a photo shoot and gave a lot of auditions like any other struggling actor.

You will be surprised to know that during her auditioning period, many people did not know that Pranutan belonged to a film background as she doesn't use her surname. When the team of Notebook eventually got to know about it, everyone was surprised by Pranutan's modest behaviour.

While Pranutan played a die-hard romantic character in Notebook, she is not exactly like that in real life. Even if she loves someone, she claims that she is not very expressive to the person, and she doesn't know how to be. "My form of love will be, 'Are you okay?' 'Have you eaten?' 'Have you reached home?' and stuff like that. I am not into like, 'Let's watch a movie every Friday.' Although I love it and I wish I could be. I love it when people do that, but it's not something that I can do. I think it's very cute to give someone a rose. I wish I was expressive," she said in an interview.

We must say, Pranutan is truly setting examples for all the newbies coming from an influential background in the film industry. Great going girl!

Here's wishing good luck to Pranutan and very happy belated birthday!