It's the great Bollywood jinx -- sons and daughters of superstars losing out to children of actors who never made it to the top slot or to complete outsiders. So will Abhishek Bachchan break the big jinx and prove to the world that the gene pool does work after all?

Dev Anand -- the evergreen hero of Bollywood -- is still going strong at 83 but his son Sunil had a disastrous debut in "Anand Hi Anand". Dev Anand later said, the "launch" was a mistake because he "overshadowed" his son. The legend's wife Kalpana Karthik too was a much-sought after actress.

Rajendra Kumar's son Kumar Gaurav debuted in the hit "Love Story" directed and produced by his father. But Kumar Jr, remembered as a one-hit wonder, had to bow out of the race just as soon.

Though the sons of doyen of Indian cinema Prithviraj Kapoor -- Raj, Shammi and Shashi -- more or less lived up to their father's reputation, most of their children offered little to carry on the legacy.

Raj Kapoor's sons, Randhir, Rishi and Rajeev, never filled the space occupied by their iconic father. Though Rajeev got a perfect launch in "Ram Teri Ganga Maili", he could not even match up to his brothers.

Rishi did reasonably well, especially when he teamed with Neetu Singh whom he later married. The verdict on their son Ranbir, who like all star kids is working on a dream project, will be out soon.

The superstar of the 1970s, Rajesh Khanna, broke a million hearts when he married Dimple Kapadia, a star in her own right, but their daughters Twinkle and Rinke could never equal the couple's star status.

Twinkle went back to making designer candles and running an interior decoration business before settling down to marry action star Akshay Kumar.

The kids of another superstar couple, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, have not been able to match their parents' expectations. The "Dharam Garam" charm could not be sustained by Sunny, Bobby or even Abhay. Hema's daughter Esha is a pale shadow of the "dream girl" of yesteryears.

Sunil Dutt and Nargis' son Sanjay did better than many others, but was never able to consistently remain in the top bracket despite the occasional big hit.

Similarly, Shashi Kapoor's kids Sanjana and Kunal and more recently "Jumping Jack" Jeetendra's son Tusshar and Vinod Khanna's sons Akshaye and Rahul never hit the major league.

On the other hand, filmmakers are vying with each other to launch sons of actors who never belonged to the top league. Hrithik Roshan, the son of Rakesh Roshan, is among the top-ranking actors of Bollywood who can command a hefty price.

Though Randhir Kapoor could never make a lasting mark in tinsel world, his daughters Karisma and Kareena have made it to the top and are keeping the Kapoor banner flying high. Even though Karisma, like many star kids, never got a dream debut, she made it big. For Kareena, it was more or less smooth sailing.

The jinx seems to extend to other departments of Bollywood. Lyricist Gulzar and actress Rakhi's daughter Meghna hasn't quite carved a niche for herself. The genius of Javed Akhtar or the versatility of Mahesh Bhatt is yet to be reflected in their children.

Pooja Bedi, the daughter of actor Kabir Bedi whose career in Bollywood never took off, told: "You are judging the kids at the beginning of their careers. Their parents established themselves after spending many years in the industry. Give the kids equal time and then make the assessment.

"Amitabh had many more flops than his son!"

Asked to give examples of star kids who made it big, she said, "I think Hrithik is much bigger than his father was. Even Kareena has made it big, so has Kajol (Tanuja's daughter)."

Hrithik, Kareena and Kajol's parents were never in Bollywood's A list.

So will Chhota B, the star son of Amitabh Bachchan-Jaya Bhaduri who debuted in "Refugee" with Karisma six years ago, be able to break the big jinx and become the next Big B of Bollywood?