Born on November 1, 1995, Ishaan Khatter is the son of Neelima Azim and her ex-husband, actor, Rajesh Khattar. He is Shahid Kapoor's half-brother. Quite clearly, Ishaan has grown up seeing the world of showbiz closely! (All pictures/Ishaan Khatter's official Instagram handle)
Ishaan made his film debut with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's Beyond The Clouds, but Dhadak (2018) marked his entry into Bollywood. An adaptation of the Marathi hit Sairat, Dhadak also marked the much-awaited Bollywood foray of Janhvi Kapoor, late actress Sridevi and Boney Kapoor's daughter.
Very few know that Ishaan Khatter was one of the kids in the 2005 Shahid Kapoor-starrer Waah Life Ho Toh Aisi. Remember Shahid's film with Sanjay Dutt? Well, nevermind! Ishaan also appeared in a much more renowned, and much more recent film of Shahid Kapoor. He had a blink-and-miss role in Udta Punjab. A scene where Tommy Singh's (Shahid Kapoor) party gets interrupted by the Punjab police, Ishaan's character is partying hard with his friends till the time he spots the cops coming in, which is when he flees! Go back and watch the scene if you have missed it!
When it comes to his career, Ishaan Khatter is glad to have the sound guidance of brother Shahid Kapoor. 'He is the one man I look up to, he is my influence. So far, my films have chosen me. But hereon, I will show the scripts to him and have a discussion with him before I take a decision. He always wants to have a discussion before I sign a film, he wants to know everything - from who is making it, to who is my co-star.'
Ishaan shares a great rapport with Shahid Kapoor's wife, Mira Rajput as well. Seen here with Shahid, Mira and mother Neelima at Shahid's wedding.
Ishaan was already a sensation on social media before his debut was announced. The actor has a lot of followers on his Instagram and Twitter account. The actor keeps sharing a lot of photos much to the delight of his fans. He has also been named for India's Emerging Account for growing his fanbase on Instagram significantly throughout 2017.
Ishaan has inherited his acting genes from his mother Neelima Azim and father Rajesh Khattar, both of whom are Bollywood and television actors.
In picture: Ishaan with his mommy dear.
On his love for dance, Ishaan Khatter said, 'Actually, my mother was the first dancer in our family and she is the most accomplished of us all as a dancer. I don't think I was even conscious that my brother was a dancer when I started learning the art form. I was very young.'
Ishaan Khatter says he is very fortunate to get offered variety so early in his career. 'I am fortunate to be offered variety in such a short span of time. I managed to make my debut with my favourite Majid Majidi, whereas 'Dhadak' is giving me a huge mass exposure. I just hope that I maintain the balance. Critics have been so kind of me to praise my performance in my debut film,' Ishaan told IANS in an interview.
In Dhadak, produced by Karan Johar, Ishaan played a Rajasthani boy who is obsessed with films from the 1990s. It's a character very different from his first release Beyond The Clouds, in which he played a drug peddler. Do you know how he changed his acting style for Dhadak?
'I had to mould myself depending on the demand and vision of the director I was working with. Of course, the world of these two films are very different, so we tend to think that the audience would also be different. But I do not want to label films that way. My acting style changes according to the way a character is imagined,' Ishaan told mid-day.
Ishaan is influenced by many international superstars like the late King of Pop Michael Jackson and French dancers Les Twins, apart from Indian classical dance exponent Birju Maharaj.
Ishaan has been widely praised for his dance moves in Dhadak's hit number Zingaat. Has Shahid, also a brilliant dancer, been an inspiration? And the answer is 'Yes'. Ishaan says, 'I definitely share my passion with him. We are very zealous about dance, and he is the more experienced among the two of us. Sasha bhai has been a mentor and has taught me to groove in several different techniques. So, he definitely is my teacher and mentor.'
Talking about his dancing skills, Ishaan Khatter said, 'I used to copy him a lot as a kid. I think it's something in the genes. Both of us have inherited dance from our mother (Neelima Azeem) and I have idolised him as a dancer since childhood.'
Ishaan was quizzed about working opportunities in the future with more celebrated actors. 'I am open to working with everybody - My senior and also fresh actors who are new like me in the industry,' he said
Whether he feels any pressure to maintain his family's stature in the film industry, Ishaan said, 'I have only got encouragement and lessons from my family, so I don't associate negative things like pressure with them.'
'It's a state of your mind. We can take expectations of audience in the form of responsibility or pressure. Our family is in love with this profession and I am really fortunate that I have got an opportunity to prove myself and to do what I love to do... My effort will be to put my heart and soul in my work and I will try to make not only my family, but the entire country happy with my work.' That was such an honest answer Ishaan!
When asked if not an actor, what would he be, Ishaan said, 'I would either be a dancer or do something else related to cinema in the creative department or I could also be an explorer.'
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