Ishaan Khatter, in an interview, said, “the most consistent feedback that I would get is that I look very young. For better or for worse we don’t write a lot of complex and layered roles for young faces and young actors here.”
Ishaan Khatter is basking in the success of his Hollywood debut, The Perfect Couple,now streaming on Netflix. Starring alongside Nicole Kidman, Ishaan’s latest project marks a significant milestone in his six-year journey as an actor.
In an candid chat, Ishaan Khatter shares his thoughts on his career and ambition. The talented actor confesses that his search for meaningful projects knows no borders, driven by a passion for quality work. However, he also reveals a persistent challenge in Bollywood — being typecast due to his youthful appearance. “The most consistent feedback I’ve received is that I look very young,” Ishaan admits.
Ishaan’s tryst with international projects began with Majid Majidi’s Beyond The Clouds and Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy. His Bollywood debut, Dhadak, alongside Janhvi Kapoor, further cemented his position in the Indian film industry. Now, with his Hollywood debut, Ishaan confesses that he’s not focused on making a name in just one industry.
“I have never been overly strategised. I’ve also largely been lucky and had such opportunities. I have only been six years into my career and I have had wonderful opportunities. I have always strived for my work to be diverse, I was never attached to making a name in any one particular industry. Even now when I am asked, if I want to work more in the West or here, my honest answer is wherever the good work is. I am going to try to make the most of the opportunities that I receive and do justice to them. At the moment I am enjoying this because I think it is a blessing that I got a start that one would idealise and hope to have,” Ishaan shares.
Ishaan then opens up about the difficulty of securing substantial roles in Bollywood due to his youthful appearance, which he feels has led to unfair assumptions about his acting range.
“When I started I was 21. For the longest time, the most consistent feedback that I would get is that I look very young. For better or for worse, we don’t write a lot of complex and layered roles for young faces and young actors here. So, I was very fortunate that I got to start with the likes of Maji Majidi and Mira (Nair) di two-three years down the line.”
Does that make him bitter? Ishaan responds, “If that’s what you are seeking, of course. That is something one strives for. At least in my case I did. I was also a bit spoiled because I started with Beyond The Clouds, and it was a rare role. I just wanted to break out of the mould a little. Even in commercial projects, to receive parts that are three dimensional, that is largely an actor’s job to bring those layers and dimensions, but it is very important to be supported by text as well. I think it is changing and you should celebrate it when you get a chance like that and when it is appreciated and received well.”
The Perfect Couple was a long-awaited project, taking over a year to complete due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. Ishaan recounts, “It was particularly long drawn out because there was of course the SAG strike that happened and we had a few days of work remaining. We were at the tail-end when the strike happened. So, the production was delayed for about seven months. We started shooting early in March, the first day of shoot was with myself and Eve, it was March 3, 2023 and we happened to wrap it in January 2024. So, yes, it was a longish period and I have worked ever since, I have shot another series.”
Managing dates and balancing international projects with Bollywood films can be challenging. Ishaan shares, “Well, these were blanket dates, so I was in Cape Cod (Peninsula in Massachusetts) for seven months at a stretch, I didn’t come back even once. In any case I prefer to finish one project and then move on to the other, it’s my personal preference. I know people can do it many other ways and that’s great, but I like giving myself to one thing, physically immersing myself in that and having the full lived experience and then moving on. So, it works for me in any case but in this case it was particularly long form, four months in the Cape is a long time.”
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