Ishaan Khatter’s dad defends him in nepotism row: Even sons of superstars are sitting at home

Ishaan Khatter’s father, actor Rajesh Khattar, is unhappy with the nepotism debate around his son’s film Dhadak; says that it only makes sense in a corporate set-up.

Actor Rajesh Khattar has been a prominent name in Bollywood — having been a part of big films such as Don 2 (2011), Khiladi 786 (2012) and Race 2 (2013). But what many people might not know is that he’s a big name in the dubbing industry as well,considering he’s given his voice for Hollywood actors such as Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr for the entire Pirates of The Carribean and Iron Man series.

Rajesh is happy with the way his son Ishaan Khatter’s Bollywood career is shaping up.

Now, it’s his and ex-wife, actor Neelima Azim’s son Ishaan Khatter’s turn to make a mark in Bollywood. His first film, Beyond the Clouds has been directed by Majid Majidi, and his first commercial venture, Dhadak, with Sridevi’s daughter Janhvi, has been creating a lot of buzz. It is an official remake of the Marathi hit Sairat, which dealt with honour killing.

The poster of Rajesh’s son Ishaan Khatter’s debut film Dhadak.

Happy with the way Ishaan’s career is shaping up, Rajesh says, “It’s very important that your kids get to do what they want to, and not what you want them to do. If they are fortunate enough to go this way, you should be more than happy.”

People have been extremely critical of the choice the film’s producer Karan Johar has made for the film’s lead pair, stoking the nepotism debate again. Ishaan’s half-brother is actor Shahid Kapoor (son of actor Pankaj Kapur and Neelima), who shares a close bond with him, while Janhvi’s parents are actor Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor. Karan has been at the receiving end of nasty comments, which accuse him of being partial towards star kids.

Rajesh says, “This doesn’t make sense in this profession (acting) especially, but it exists far more in the corporate, business world. There, if the son is incompetent, you still make him the CEO, because he will be surrounded with intelligent people, the company can still run that way. But here (in Bollywood) what you are selling is yourself. You are the product yourself. If you are not accepted, where will nepotism come? There are superstars whose sons are sitting at home and are nowhere.”

“You are a star only when the public accepts you, and it doesn’t matter where you are coming from, and what kind of a launch you are getting — everyone has to begin somewhere. It’s just the beginning — the real battle lies ahead,” adds Rajesh, who’s currently busy working on three web-series, out of which one will have an international appeal.

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