HT City Showstoppers Exclusive| Ishaan Khatter: I’m in this for the long haul, not to be the flavour of the season
Ishaan Khatter, posing for HT City Showstoppers, talks about how his initial films proved to be a foundation and he wishes to continue exploring new genres.
Unlike most star kids, actor Ishaan Khatter opted for an unconventional debut with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s critically acclaimed Beyond The Clouds. Later, he was launched in Bollywood by Karan Johar’s production Dadak, an out-and-out commercial film.
Reflecting on his initial days, the actor admits that both the films gave him “a very strong of foundation”. He elaborates, “Working with Majidi sir early on in your career is like a university. It built a lot of character, and built me as an actor from scratch almost. And it definitely did give me courage because that’s one of the things that counts the most in this line of work. And I say courageous, not fearless because it’s normal to have fear. But, I think some of the best stuff comes out of tackling your fear and taking it head on. I take it as a positive thing, to be challenged and to feel intimidated,” says Khatter, who has starred in films such as Khaali Peeli, Phone Bhoot and Pippa.
Seven years later, Khatter believes that with all the films he has done so far, there’s a whole ocean full of experiences. “I’ve always been more interested in being able to do excellent work and give the audience something new and surprising and grow as an artist while entertaining them at the same time. So, of course, it’s an actor’s duty to not bore an audience and engage and entertain them. I’m keeping a very close eye on what my audience likes to see me doing. That’s very important to me, and not something that would completely overlook. I’d want to consistently give them [performances] if there’s a space that they like to see me in,” says actor.
However, at the same time, Khatter is quick to add that he is also looking for, to whatever degree is possible, do something “more meaningful and significant body of work”.
He explains, “I’m trying to make the best choices from the opportunities that I have at hand, and I shall continue doing that. I’ve so far been very lucky to do very diverse work. I don’t think I’ve ever repeated myself in a space of genre yet. So, I’m just trying to make the most of the opportunities I have. I’m looking forward to the next couple years and have some fresh territories that I’ve not explored before.”
Meanwhile, there have been times when Khatter experienced his films not working at the box office or not getting the desired response. On the highs and lows on the professional front, the actor follows a very balanced approach.
“Successes and failures come in everybody’s life. Nobody that is successful, has been successful by never failing. That’s simply not the way that it works. You fail nine or 10 times, and then the 11th time or the 12th time, you are able to perhaps do something exceptional. You get empowered by the learning that you have through failures. They say, ‘You learn from your failures, and not really from your successes.’. And in my experience, I can definitely concur that,” says the actor, who is the half-brother of actor Shahid Kapoor.
Khatter further adds that each time a project or a piece of work that he has done has not landed, he has only had more takeaways and learning from it.
“You have to find your own individual way of dealing with it [failures]. Things that I'm passionate about give me a lot of strength and power. I was destined to be a creative person and, and express myself creatively. Acting is my passion, dancing is my passion, being a performer in cinema, in the field of cinema is something that I’ve worked my entire life to learn. So, I’m in this for the long haul, I’m here to be like they say, lambi race ka ghoda, I’m not here to be the flavor of the season," asserts the actor, adding that it doesn’t bog him down when he has a failure neither does he feel satisfies with a success.
Quoting celebrated basketball player Kobe Bryant, Khatter elaborates, “He says doubt is a very strange emotion because regardless of the outcome of the work that you put out there, whether it’s a failure or it’s successful, you still have to get up the next day and to do it all over again. You are only as good as you are on the day. So, that perspective helps me a lot. Every time I go on set, I like to remind myself like today is not going to be like any other day of work, and then I’m the sum total of the experiences that I’ve had today.”
Keeping up with the “diverse work” and variety he brings on screen, the actor is set to make his Hollywood debut with limited series The Perfect Couple, the trailer for which dropped last week. While he can’t divulge much details yet, he tells us, “It’s been one of the most interesting experiences of my young career so far — a completely new set up and domain for me. And it’s so exciting to work with an incredible set of people like Nicole Kidman and Dakota Fanning. Without giving much away about the plot and what it’s gonna be about, I can definitely tell you that it will be a fun watch for the global audience.”
Asked if such international projects give instant gratification and validation that every actor seeks, Khatter admits being aware that this is “uncommon and it’s a very rare opportunity”.
Stating that Indian cinema is at a very nascent stage of doing a lot of very interesting crossover work, he adds, “It’s just the tip of the iceberg because the Indian cinematic world is so varied and exciting, and it’s just on the brink of being discovered in a big way by the international audience. I’m very happy to be one of the first young actors to be representing [our cinema] on a larger scale like that. It’s definitely a very interesting and rare part.”