The Shyamalan family is very close. During a video interview with sisters Saleka, 27, and Ishana Night Shyamalan, 24, their father, M. Night Shyamalan, director of “The Sixth Sense,” called Ishana on the phone.
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“He knows very well that we are on this video call,” she said, laughing and ignoring the ringing.
Given this familial bond, it makes sense that the Shyamalan sisters are almost simultaneously experiencing high points in their careers in collaboration with their father. Ishana’s directorial debut, “Watched,” with Night as one of the producers, was released in June, while Saleka plays a pop star and wrote original songs for Night’s most recent film, “The Trap,” which opens next month.
Both recognize the advantages that come with their lineage, but have tried to compensate for this with discipline.
“It’s really about recognizing that privilege and honoring it with as strong a work ethic as possible, and being as kind a person as possible,” Ishana said.
But no matter what profession they chose, Saleka said, her father would likely be around: “He’s just a super involved dad.”
In a separate interview, Night said: “We are a classic Asian Indian family, but perhaps the slightly interesting difference is that rather than going into medicine, engineering or law — your only three options — we are going into the arts.”
Night involved his daughters in his process from an early age. Saleka and Ishana — they also have a younger sister, Shivani — had their formative memories on the sets of Night’s films. Their 2006 feature, “Lady in the Water,” was born from a story he told them.
Inspired by their shared love of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” Saleka and Night came up with “The Trap,” a thriller about a father who takes his daughter to see her favorite artist, Lady Raven, played by Saleka. She wrote 14 songs for the project.
Ishana previously wrote and directed the TV show “Servant.” (Night executive produced and Saleka wrote songs for the show.) Ishana then turned to adapting A.M. Shine’s novel “Watched.” The mysterious thriller stars Dakota Fanning.
Night maintains a professional role in his daughters’ careers whenever he’s in producer or director mode. But dad mode kicks in when he worries about whether they’re eating and sleeping enough. “As a father, you don’t ever want them to get hurt,” he said.
Ishana and Saleka don’t always live at home, but they did cohabitate while working on “Observed” and “Trap.” Saleka spent his days in the recording studio and Ishana mixed her film at her family’s property in Pennsylvania. Ishana said having these in-house facilities is part of a “genius” way her father keeps his children close.
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