Musician Ayaan Agnihotri, who is the nephew of actor Salman Khan and goes with the stage name Agni, made his Bollywood playback debut this year with C’mon Baby in the Bobby Deol-starrer Bandar. But before the release, he had to keep the project a secret from his uncle.

“I was not allowed to tell Salman Mamu that I was doing this song for Bobby uncle’s film. Nikhil (Dwivedi, co-producer), swore me to secrecy. He said, ‘When this song goes through, then I will play it to your Mamu and tell him I’ve discovered a new voice. What do you think of this guy?’,” Ayaan recalls.

Salman’s response, he says, was encouraging. “He liked it, and when he met me the next time, he told me I did a good job and should stay at it,” the 33-year-old shares.

The son of Salman’s sister Alvira Khan Agnihotri and filmmaker Atul Agnihotri, Ayaan had once planned to become an actor but life had other plans. He shares, “I went to university to do acting and world theatre. As I went on, I realized that it’s just performing in general that I enjoy. Around the same time, I started writing and found a special connection with music. I felt I could express things that I wanted to through my writing. Music helped me relate to things I was going through and get through them. That really made an impact on me.”

While music is taking up all his time currently, acting is still on his radar. “Maybe sometime in the future. It’s definitely not off the agenda because I do love acting. But right now, the focus is on the music,” he ends.

If you’ve seen Bandar’s teaser, it’s almost impossible to miss the track, Come On Baby, playing throughout as viewers are taken into the dark world of Anurag Kashyap’s next featuring Bobby Deol. What many don’t know is that the number has been sung by musician and Salman Khan’s nephew Ayaan Agnihotri. Going behind the mic is not new for Agnihotri, aka Agni, who has belted out several English tracks. Playback singing for a Hindi film, however, is.

It turns out that producer Nikhil Dwivedi, a family friend of the Khans, convinced Agnihotri to lend his voice to the song after hearing him sing at a private function.

A source told mid-day, “Ayaan usually does not sing in Hindi. He was persuaded to give this a shot by Nikhil, who felt that Ayaan had a unique voice. Nikhil assured him that if he didn’t enjoy singing the track, they wouldn’t use it. After hearing himself, Ayaan too was convinced. In fact, Bobby also encouraged him after he heard the scratch version.”

Interestingly, Come On Baby is recreated from the album of Videsh, a 1977 film featuring Mahendra Sandhu, Shoma Anand, and Prem Krishen. It stayed with Dwivedi over the years.

The source elaborated, “While producing Bandar, Nikhil was keen to use it on Bobby’s character, an ageing television actor whose career is on the decline. While the lyrics have been retained, the number has been recreated by Aditya Dev and Payal Dev.”

Kapil Sharma’s fans had reason to cheer as Netflix, over the weekend, announced the third season of The Great Indian Kapil Show. Now, we’ve got a piece of news that will also make Salman Khan’s legion of fans look forward to the comedy show. mid-day has learnt that the superstar will open the upcoming edition, along with his nephews Arhaan Khan, Nirvan Khan, and Ayaan Agnihotri.

Salman is known to be a doting uncle to his nieces and nephews, and this will mark his first on-screen appearance with them. Sources tell us that Sharma and his team — comprising Archana Puran Singh, Sunil Grover, Kiku Sharda, and Krushna Abhishek — will begin shooting from June 1.

A source reveals, “Salman loves the show’s fun format, and is very fond of Kapil and Sunil. So, he was more than happy to appear on the show. It was his idea to be joined by his nephews. Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora’s son Arhaan will not only talk about his mother’s recently launched restaurant in Bandra, but also about his podcast Dumb Biryani. Atul and Alvira Agnihotri’s son Ayaan has launched his music. The trio will talk about their bond with Salman and how they often turn to him for advice.”

It is heard that Salman’s sister Arpita Khan and her husband Aayush Sharma’s children Ahil and Ayat too might make a special appearance on the chat show.

Ayaan Agnihotri aka Agni comes from a lineage that boasts of names such as his grandfather, writer Salim Khan, and uncles, actors Salman Khan, Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan. Even his sister, Alizeh Agnihotri made her foray into acting in 2023. However, Ayaan, son of producer-fashion designer Alvira Khan Agnihotri and actor-filmmaker Atul Agnihotri, has chosen music as his career.

He recently released his single, Universal Laws, and has been working on his own EP. Mention his lineage and he says, “It feels good to know that maybe I can contribute something that’s different, something that people wouldn’t expect from my family.”

Ask him why he chose to dabble in English music and the 27-year-old says, “It’s easier for me to express myself in English. Also, I’ve always listened to and been inspired by English music.”

However, he adds, “I’ve done Hindi songs with (musician) Himesh Reshammiya and also (composer duo) Sajid-Wajid. I’ll be very happy to do more Hindi music later. But, if I work in Hindi first and get accepted there, I don’t know if I’d ever get accepted in English (music).”

Even with his background, it took Ayaan eight years to find a producer: “I didn’t feel that I was there yet. I knew that I sounded bad — my accent was heavier, and my delivery and breath control weren’t great. There was a lot of scope for improvement. If I’m going to go out there, then I better be good at it. And that’s why it took eight years of just refining.”

Salman Khan is set to launch his nephew Ayaan’s debut English single, Universal Laws, in Dubai on February 20. Ayaan Agnihotri is the son of Alvira and Atul Agnihotri. Choosing music over acting, Ayan marks a fresh departure from the Khan family’s cinematic legacy. The grand event will see strong family support, with Salman, Sohail Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Alvira Agnihotri, Atul Agnihotri, Alizeh Agnihotri, Arpita Sharma, Aayush Sharma, Salma Khan, and Helen Khan attending. Salman’s nephews Nirvan Khan and Arhaan Khan, along with Ssuhra Khan, will also be present.

Adding to the star power, Bollywood celebrities Bobby Deol, Sonakshi Sinha, and Sunil Grover will be part of the launch, alongside music composer Himesh Reshammiya and actor Zaheer Khan.

Talking to mid-day, Ayaan said, "There’s no better feeling in the world than receiving acceptance and support from your loved ones. Everyone’s been so kind and I’m grateful to them all, always."

The event will be at the Belcanto Restaurant in the Dubai Opera on February 20 and the premiere of the music video is the grand finale of the do. He says, "We’ve chosen Dubai as an international hub as it is a centre point for a lot of international music and artists. We’re hoping the track finds its audience globally."

The music video for Universal Laws will premiere on Ayan Agnihotri’s YouTube channel, Agni, which also serves as his stage name, and will be available on all streaming platforms. It is an English song. Composed, written, sung, and rapped by Agni, the track is produced by Aditya Dev, with direction and creative execution by Jugaad Motion Pictures and backing from Reel Life Productions Pvt Ltd.

How did he ditch the acting route for this? "The song originated from the feelings of happiness and wonder, it’s a reminder that no one can predict what’s to come and that sometimes you find the greatest, most beautiful things when you’re not looking. Trust the process, it’s not over until it’s over. I have always been into music. It began with writing poetry and 16, which nobody will ever read as I can personally tell you they were not good. From there it evolved into spoken word pieces leading into writing rap verses, too chorus and eventually writing and composing entire songs. And for another 8 years with a key focus on sounding better so I could sing and rap my own music."

Agnihotri had a ball shooting this, he says. "I think the funniest thing that happened was that my producer Aditya Dev forgot that he had ever made this beat for me when I went back to him with the completed song."

But does it mean there won't be acting ever for him? "Who knows what the future holds? These Universal laws leave me in awe," he says, quoting the track.