Ishaan Khatter

Ishaan Khatter
Khatter in 2023
Born	(1995-11-01) 1 November 1995 (age 29) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2017–present
Parent(s)	Rajesh Khattar Neelima Azeem
Relatives	Shahid Kapoor (half-brother)

Ishaan Khatter (born 1 November 1995) is an Indian actor. The son of actors Rajesh Khattar and Neelima Azeem, he made his first screen appearance as a child in the 2005 film Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!, which starred his half-brother Shahid Kapoor.[1][2]

Khatter had his first leading role in Majid Majidi's drama Beyond the Clouds (2017), in which his performance as a drug dealer won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. His first commercial success came with the romantic drama Dhadak (2018), and he has since starred in the British miniseries A Suitable Boy (2020) and the American miniseries The Perfect Couple (2024).

Early life and background

Khatter is the son of actors Neelima Azeem and Rajesh Khattar. Through his mother he belongs to the family of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, a writer and film director.[3] His half-brother, Shahid Kapoor, is Azeem's son from her first marriage to actor Pankaj Kapur.[4][5] Khatter describes himself as someone who is proud of his middle class values.[6] He explains that he grew up in a household rich in culture, cinema, and the performing arts, and that he worked towards developing himself as an artiste.[6] Khatter was educated at Jamnabai Narsee School and Billabong High International School, Juhu in Mumbai.[7] He also studied dance at Shiamak Davar's academy.[8]

After making his first screen appearance as a child in the 2005 film Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!, starring Kapoor,[1] Khatter worked as an assistant director to Abhishek Chaubey on his film Udta Punjab (2016) and Danish Renzu on the independent film Half Widow (2017).[9]

Career

Khatter in 2018

Khatter's first acting role as an adult came with Beyond the Clouds (2017), directed by Majid Majidi, in which he played Amir, a drug dealer. It premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and was released theatrically in 2018.[10] Reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter, Deborah Young wrote that Khatter's "noteworthy screen charisma promises well for his future career".[11] He won the Best Actor award at the 5th International Bosphorous Film Festival and the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut.[12][13]

Khatter next played the lead role in Shashank Khaitan's romantic drama Dhadak (2018), a remake of the Marathi film Sairat (2016), co-starring newcomer Janhvi Kapoor.[14][15] It tells the story of two young lovers in rural Rajasthan who face political opposition to their relationship due to caste discrimination. Uday Bhatia of Mint criticized Dhadak for lacking the depth of the original film, but found "a soulfulness to [Khatter] that's at odds with Hindi cinema's current penchant for bratty, hyperactive onscreen male personas".[16] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express too disliked the film, but labelled Khatter a "natural" performer and took note of his "mobile, expressive face".[17] With worldwide earnings of over ₹1.1 billion (US$13 million), Dhadak emerged as a commercial success.[18][19]

In 2020, Khatter starred in the British miniseries A Suitable Boy, Mira Nair's adaptation of Vikram Seth's novel of the same name, in which he was paired opposite Tabu.[20] It aired in six parts on BBC One.[21] He was drawn to the project due to its depiction of an older woman-young man romance, which he hoped would challenge social stigma of such relationships.[22] Hugo Rifkind of The Times found Khatter to be "suitably charismatic and dangerous" in his part.[23] That same year, he starred alongside Ananya Panday in the action film Khaali Peeli, which due to COVID-19 pandemic was released digitally on Zee Plex.[24]

In 2022, Khatter featured alongside Katrina Kaif and Siddhant Chaturvedi in the comedy horror film Phone Bhoot.[25][26] Reviewers were generally unimpressed with the picture,[27] but Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV thought that the "charm and spunk" that Khatter brought to his comic role enabled him to "[walk] away with the film".[28] The following year, he started in a promotional short film for Apple Inc., titled Fursat, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj on an iPhone 14 Pro.[29] In the war drama Pippa, set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Khatter played the real-life character of army commander Balram Singh Mehta.[30] In preparation, he spent time with Mehta and attended military boot camp.[31][32] Initially scheduled for a theatrical release, it was eventually released on Amazon Prime Video after several delays.[31] Rediff.com's critic Sukanya Verma opined, "There's a hearty quality to Ishaan, but in Pippa he's trying too hard."[33]

In 2024, Khatter featured alongside an ensemble cast in The Perfect Couple, an American Netflix limited series based on Elin Hilderbrand's mystery novel of the same name.[34] Screen Rant's Mae Abdulbaki found his character's subplot to be of minimal significance to the main storyline.[35] In the upcoming Indian Netflix series, The Royals, he will star opposite Bhumi Pednekar.[36]

Media

Khatter was ranked by The Times of India in their "Most Desirable Men" listings at No. 27 in 2018,[37] at No. 32 in 2019,[38] at No. 25 in 2020.[39]

Filmography

Films

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2005	Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!	Ishaan	Child artist	[40]
2016	Udta Punjab	Unnamed	Also assistant director	[41]
2017	Half Widow	—	Assistant director	[42]
	Beyond the Clouds	Amir Ahmed		[43]
2018	Dhadak	Madhukar Bagla		[44]
2020	Khaali Peeli	Banda Blackie		[45]
2021	Don't Look Up	Raghav Manavalan	American film; cameo	[46]
2022	Phone Bhoot	Galileo "Gullu" Parthasarthy		[47]
2023	Fursat	Nishu	Short film	[29]
	Pippa	Captain Balram Singh Mehta		[48]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2020	A Suitable Boy	Maan Kapoor	Miniseries	[49]
2024	The Perfect Couple	Shooter Dival	Miniseries	[34]
TBA	The Royals †	TBA	Filming	[36]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result	Ref.
2017	International Bosphorous Film Festival	Best Actor	Beyond the Clouds	Won	[13]
2018	Screen Awards	Best Male Debut	Dhadak / Beyond the Clouds	Won	[50]
2019	Zee Cine Awards	Best Male Debut		Won	[51]
	Filmfare Awards	Best Male Debut	Beyond the Clouds	Won	[52]
	International Indian Film Academy Awards	Star Debut of the Year – Male	Dhadak	Won	[53]
2023	Bollywood Hungama Style Icons	Most Stylish Mould Breaking Star (Male)	—	Nominated	[54]
		Most Stylish Emerging Icon	—	Nominated
2024	Filmfare OTT Awards	Best Actor in a Web Original Film (Male)	Pippa	Nominated	[55]

References

1. "Dhadak: Janhvi Kapoor looks like mother Sridevi in debut film's 3 posters with Ishaan Khattar". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
2. "SEE: Karan Johar unveils poster of Janhvi Kapoor's debut film Dhadak opposite Ishaan Khatter". India Today. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
3. KBR, Upala (13 June 2016). "Like Shahid, Ishaan is a fabulous dancer, says mom Neelima Azim on his Bollywood debut". DNA India. Archived from the original on 5 February 2024. My mother Khadija Azim had famous poets in her family. She belongs to the family of KA Abbas.
4. Ishan Khattar dances just like big brother Shahid Kapoor in video. Check it out Archived 8 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Hindustan Times, 7 Nov 2017.
5. Rajesh Khattar REACTS To Nepotism Allegations On Son Ishaan Archived 8 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine, India.com, 18 Nov 2017.
6. I’m proud of my middle-class background, says Ishaan Khatter Archived 8 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Daily News and Analysis, 7 April 2018.
7. "Ishaan Khatter On Privilege, Peculiar Family Dynamics And The Quest For Acting Glory". Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
8. "Shiamak Davar proud of Dhadak star Ishaan Khattar". 4 July 2018. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
9. Mukherjee, Shreya (16 August 2018). "What mom Neelima Azeem told Ishaan Khatter: It's good to have fire in your belly". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
10. "'Beyond The Clouds': London Review". Screen Daily. 15 October 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
11. "'Beyond the Clouds' ('Ansooy-e Abrha'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 22 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
12. "Winners of the 64th Vimal Filmfare Awards 2019". Filmfare. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
13. "Ishaan Khatter wins Best Actor award at Turkish film fest for debut film Beyond The Clouds". Hindustan Times. 27 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
14. "Dhadak first look: Janhvi Kapoor has Sridevi's charm and Ishaan Khatter is Bollywood's next chocolate boy". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
15. "Dhadak: Release date of Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter starrer postponed to 20 July". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
16. Bhatia, Uday (20 July 2018). "Film Review: Dhadak". Mint. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
17. Gupta, Shubhra (20 July 2018). "Dhadak movie review: There is no 'dhak dhak' in this Janhvi Kapoor starrer". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
18. "The Real Winner With Dhadak". Box Office India. 25 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
19. "Box Office: Worldwide Collections and Day wise breakup of Dhadak". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
20. Kotwani, Hiren (12 August 2019). "Ishaan Khatter, Tabu and Tanya Maniktala in Mira Nair's next, an adaptation of Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
21. "Cast announced for BBC One's A Suitable Boy, the first screen adaptation of Vikram Seth's classic novel". BBC. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
22. Ramasubramanian, Uma (28 July 2020). "Ishaan Khatter On A Suitable Boy: Can Bring A New Point Of View Through Art". Mid Day. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
23. Rifkind, Hugo (31 July 2020). "A Suitable Boy review — Vikram Seth's Indian epic turns more soapy and domestic on screen". The Times. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
24. "Ishaan Khatter, Ananya Panday's 'Khaali Peeli' to release on VOD service 'Zee Plex' in October". The New Indian Express. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
25. "Khaali Peeli first look: Ananya Panday and Ishaan Khatter cannot take their eyes off each other". India Today. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
26. "Ishaan Khatter opens up about his film Phone Booth with Katrina Kaif and Siddhant Chaturvedi; says it's an absolute blast of a script". Bollywood Hungama. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
27. "Katrina Kaif's Phone Bhoot disappoints at Box Office, registers shocking figure on Day 1". Zee News. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
28. "Phone Bhoot Review: Katrina Kaif, Ishaan Khatter And Siddhant Chaturvedi's Film Is Wacky, Wild And Weird". NDTV. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
29. "Fursat: Vishal Bhardwaj's new short film stars Ishaan Khatter and Wamiqa Gabbi, he shot it on an iPhone 14 Pro". The Indian Express. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
30. Ramachandran, Naman (13 August 2020). "'A Suitable Boy' Star Ishaan Khatter Heads Cast of War Film 'Pippa'". Variety. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
31. Mitra, Shilajit (9 November 2023). "Ishaan Khatter and team on 'Pippa': Patriotism is not about hating somebody else". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
32. Singh, Mohnish (19 November 2023). "'I don't believe war is an answer, but...'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
33. Verma, Sukanya (10 November 2023). "Pippa Review: More Pipsqueak". Rediff.com. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
34. Otterson, Joe (31 March 2023). "Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Dakota Fanning to Star in Netflix Limited Series 'The Perfect Couple". Variety. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
35. Abdulbaki, Mae (6 September 2024). "The Perfect Couple Review: Netflix's Whodunit Has A Crucial Nicole Kidman Scene That's Not To Be Missed". Screen Rant. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
36. "The Royals: Bhumi Pednekar, Ishaan Khattar redefine love with their regal romance; Zeenat Aman, Milind Soman and others add classy twist". Pinkvilla. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
37. "Meet India's most desirable dudes - Times of India ►". The Times of India. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
38. "Times 50 Most Desirable Men: Here are the stars who bagged the place in the coveted list". www.timesnownews.com. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
39. "The Times Most Desirable Man of 2020: Sushant Singh Rajput - Philosopher, dreamer, charmer - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
40. "Ishaan appeared first on screen in 'Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi!'". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
41. "ICYDK: Ishaan Khatter Was An Assistant Director In This Shahid Kapoor Film". NDTV.com. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
42. Dedhia, Sonal (8 April 2018). "Ishaan Khatter: Not Dyslexic, But Often Felt Like Ishaan From Taare Zameen Par". Mid Day. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
43. "Mira Rajput wishes 'chota' Ishaan Khattar for Beyond The Clouds, Shahid Kapoor smiles along". Bollywood Hungama. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
44. "Ishaan Khatter goes on a shopping spree in Turkey for his 'Dhadak' co-star Janhvi Kapoor". Times of India. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
45. "Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday to star in Khaali Peeli". The Indian Express. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
46. "EXCLUSIVE: Ishaan Khatter features in a cameo in Leonardo DiCaprio-Jennifer Lawrence starrer Don't Look Up". Bollywood Hungama. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
47. "Katrina Kaif, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ishaan Khatter starrer 'Phone Bhoot' shoot begins". India TV News. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
48. "First Look At Ishaan Khatter In Indo-Pakistan War Pic 'Pippa'". Deadline Hollywood. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
49. "Maan Kapoor is an almost kaleidoscopic character: Ishaan Khatter". The Indian Express. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
50. "Star Screen Awards 2018 complete winners list: Alia Bhatt wins Best Actress, Rajkummar Rao and Ranveer Singh are Best Actors". Hindustan Times. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
51. "Zee Cine Awards full winners list: Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone win big". India Today. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
52. "Ranbir, Alia win big at 64th Filmfare Awards".
53. "IIFA 2019: Ranveer Singh Named Best Actor, Alia Bhatt Wins Best Actress Award".
54. "Check out the complete list of winners of the Bollywood Hungama Style Icon Awards". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
55. "Filmfare OTT Awards 2024 Nominations". Filmfare. Retrieved 17 October 2024.

External links

• Ishaan Khatter at IMDb 
• Ishaan Khatter at Bollywood Hungama
• Ishaan Khatter on Instagram