Salman Khan to star in directorial debut of Sooraj Barjatya's son? Son

Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya and actor Salman Khan started their careers together with the 1989 romantic musical Maine Pyar Kiya. Both of them boasted of a sincerity that was not seen on the silver screen before.

Now, it is Khan who is encouraging Sooraj's son Avnish to follow in his father's footsteps and take up film making. The Times of India reports that while Sooraj had little idea about his younger son's cinematic aspirations, Salman saw a budding filmmaker in Avnish during the shooting of Sooraj's 2015 directorial, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.

Avnish was an Assistant Director on that film and he narrated a story idea to Khan during the filming. The star was impressed by Avnish's cinematic instincts and pushed him to work on the script.

Now, DNA reports that Sooraj is planning to cast Khan in Avnish's directorial debut that will be made under his home production, Rajshri Productions. He added that the film will be for a family audience, on the same lines as Sooraj's directorial debut, in order to retain the sanctity of Rajshri Productions.

The same report suggests that Sonam Kapoor may be cast opposite Khan in Avnish's film though there is no official word on the development yet. If it happens, it will be Khan and Kapoor's third collaboration after Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2007 romantic drama Saawariya and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.

Sooraj also has a directorial lined up with Khan but he will start working on it only after Avnish's launch. However, before the launch, Sooraj and his elder son Devaansh are busy with the much-anticipated launch of their daily soap, Piya Albela, which will go on air on 6 March.

Avnish's directorial debut will mark Khan's fifth collaboration with Rajshri Productions after Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Hum Saath-Saath Hain and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.