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The Shyamalan family is very close. How close? During a video interview with the sisters Saleka, 27, and Ishana Night Shyamalan, 24, their dad, the \u201cSixth Sense\u201d director M. Night Shyamalan, called Ishana on the phone. The sound interrupted Ishana speaking about the differences between her and her father\u2019s filmmaking process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m like, you know we\u2019re on this call right now,\u201d she said with a laugh, ignoring the ring.<\/p>\n
Given this familial bond, it makes sense that the Shyamalan siblings are both on the cusp of major career moments this summer made in collaboration with their father. Ishana\u2019s feature directing debut \u201cThe Watchers,\u201d<\/a> with Night as one of the producers, releases June 7, while Saleka, a musician, portrays a pop star in and wrote original songs<\/a> for Night\u2019s latest, \u201cTrap,\u201d due Aug. 9. The fact that both projects are emerging around the same time is coincidental, Ishana and Saleka said, but they are happy to share in the celebration.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like in some ways we\u2019ve always done that, since we were growing up, experience things together,\u201d Saleka said. \u201cSo it feels right even though it was unplanned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In an era where discourse over nepotism in Hollywood runs hot, the Shyamalans wear their name proudly. (Their mom, Bhavna Shyamalan, is the owner of a fitness studio and the vice president of the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation.) Fans noticed that there was a poster for \u201cThe Watchers\u201d in the \u201cTrap\u201d trailer<\/a>. The sisters did acknowledge the advantages that come with their lineage, but they have tried to make up for that with discipline. \u201cIt\u2019s really about meeting that privilege and honoring that with as hard a work ethic as we can, by being as kind people as we can and holding ourselves to the highest standard possible,\u201d Ishana said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But no matter what they chose as professions, Saleka said, their dad was probably going to be nearby. \u201cHe\u2019s just a super involved parent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In a separate interview, Night said that the Shyamalans are traditional in many ways even as they chart their own paths. \u201cWe\u2019re a classic Asian Indian family, but maybe the difference slightly that\u2019s interesting is rather than aiming it toward medicine, or engineering, or law \u2014 your only three options \u2014 we aimed toward the arts,\u201d he said. \u201cCodifying a process is the difficult part because in those fields those steps are already predestined and laid out for you, whereas this is amorphous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n To that end, Night involved them in his process at a young age. Saleka and Ishana\u2019s formative memories \u2014 they also have a younger sister, Shivani \u2014 were on the sets of Night\u2019s films. His 2006 feature \u201cLady in the Water\u201d<\/a> was born out of a bedtime story that their father told them when they were sleeping in adjacent twin beds. During filming, they watched it become real. (The film, which was panned upon release, also became an early lesson in criticism, and how not everyone will feel the same way about your work that you do.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n