If there’s one young star who's been making a serious impression in Bollywood both with his talent and that undeniably chiselled jawline that carried the brunt of OTT show The Royals, it’s Ishaan Khatter. But as it turns out, his entry into Bollywood wasn’t through a gruelling audition or months of training. In fact, it happened almost by accident, and the story is much cuter than you'd imagine.
In a recent interview with Mashable India, actor revealed the unexpected way he landed his very first film role — as a child actor in the 2005 film Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!, which starred his half-brother Shahid Kapoor. “I can’t claim to have auditioned or done any mehnat to get that role,” Ishaan admitted with a smile. “Uss film meh 9 bacche the, and I was fortunate that my elder brother was the leading actor of the film and all. (There were 9 kids in the film, and I was lucky that my elder brother was the lead actor.)”
He went on to explain that he would often accompany Shahid to the film set, simply out of curiosity and admiration. “Mai set jaata tha unke saath. Jab yeh nayi film ke shooting shuru hui mai set peh chala gaya unke saath aur maine dekha ki 9 bacche hai aur sabko acting karna ka mauka mil raha hai and I was like ‘Yaar, mujhe bhi karni hai acting.’ (So I used to go to the set with him, and when the shoot for this new film started, I went along. I saw there were 9 kids getting the chance to act and I thought, ‘Man, I want to act too.’)”
What happened next was a mix of timing and sheer serendipity. Ishaan shared, “Toh unhone mera mann behlane ke liye mujhe frame meh bitha diya — ki jab tak shot set ho raha hai, usko baitha do. Toh bithaya unhone aur shayad camera chal raha tha and they realised that I’m not looking into the camera and I’m not conscious of it — mai baccho ke saath, shyly jaake baith gaya. Toh they were like, ‘acha, roll kar do’. Woh pehla din tha shoot ka and somehow I found myself there. (So they sat me in the frame just to keep me busy while the shot was being set up. So they seated me, and I think the camera was rolling — they noticed I wasn’t looking into the lens or acting self-conscious. I just sat shyly with the other kids. They said, ‘Okay, roll it.’ That was the first day of the shoot — and somehow, I ended up in the film.)”
{{/usCountry}}What happened next was a mix of timing and sheer serendipity. Ishaan shared, “Toh unhone mera mann behlane ke liye mujhe frame meh bitha diya — ki jab tak shot set ho raha hai, usko baitha do. Toh bithaya unhone aur shayad camera chal raha tha and they realised that I’m not looking into the camera and I’m not conscious of it — mai baccho ke saath, shyly jaake baith gaya. Toh they were like, ‘acha, roll kar do’. Woh pehla din tha shoot ka and somehow I found myself there. (So they sat me in the frame just to keep me busy while the shot was being set up. So they seated me, and I think the camera was rolling — they noticed I wasn’t looking into the lens or acting self-conscious. I just sat shyly with the other kids. They said, ‘Okay, roll it.’ That was the first day of the shoot — and somehow, I ended up in the film.)”
{{/usCountry}}From there, what started as a playful moment turned into an actual credited appearance. “Phir liney bhi aagayi, then I think all the mummies hated me ki isko kyun mili liney. Kyunki isko toh hona hi nahi tha, this was a joke. (Then I got lines too — and I think all the other mothers hated me, like, ‘Why did he get lines?’ Because I wasn’t even supposed to be there — this was just a joke.)” Later, when the interviewer jokingly called him out for “playing the nepo game” from the very beginning, Ishaan laughed and leaned into it, responding cheekily: “Bohot hard.”
While the conversation was lighthearted, Ishaan’s transparency about the perks of his industry connections is a refreshing departure from the usual polished PR stories. On the work front, Khatter is currently making his 2025 Cannes Film Festival debut, where fans are excited to catch a sneak peek at his newest film Homebound.