Arshad Warsi celebrated his 58th birthday on Sunday, April 19. The actor has been in the industry for decades, known for movies like the ‘Munnabhai’ franchise, ‘Golmaal’, ‘Jolly LLB’ among many others. Arshad has largely kept his personal life away from the limelight. He’s been married to Maria Goretti for the past 27 years and has two children Zeke Warsi and Zene Zoe Warsi. In an earlier interview, he had revealed both his son Zeke and daughter Zene are interested in cinema. In one of the past interviews with Times Of India, Arshad has made it clear that he does not believe in pushing his children into the film industry. Instead, he encourages them to explore their own interests and find their individual paths. His 21-year-old son, Zeke, has already begun gaining experience behind the camera, assisting filmmakers like Siddharth Anand and Rajkumar Hirani. His 18-year-old daughter, Zene Zoe, is still pursuing her education but shares a keen interest in cinema.“Yes, both my son and daughter want to act. My son is currently assisting Siddharth Anand and has assisted Raju Hirani. Of course, I’m scared — it is a tough job today. Acting is not an easy profession anymore as the success rate is so low. Out of 150 crore, a handful become actors,” he admitted.Despite the perception that industry connections can guarantee success, Arshad strongly believes otherwise. He emphasised that individual effort and luck remain the most crucial factors. “Nobody can help anybody here — you have to make your own way. I can’t make a call to a director and ask them to invest hundreds of crores in my kids. Koi mere bete pe satta kyun lagayega (Why would anyone bet on my kid)? Even a casual call to a filmmaker to meet my kids means to expect them to take them in their project, which I will not do. Why would anybody do that? Why would filmmakers bet on my kids if I ask them to do so? Why should I recommend my kids to anyone?,” shared the actor.More recently, in a conversation with Raj Shamani, Arshad reflected on the unpredictable nature of the industry and the pressures his children might face. He noted that talent alone isn’t always enough, as luck plays a significant role — something that concerns him as a parent.He also addressed the expectations often placed on star kids, pointing out that his own journey, built from the ground up, creates a different kind of pressure for his children. Comparing it to the expectations faced by the children of stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, he said, “Star kids of people like Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan have a different kind of pressure, they have to be bigger. My kids don’t have that. They just need to be good actors.”
