New kid on the block, Ishaan Khatter goes Beyond the Clouds 

He speaks about the intensity of his character, working with an auteur like Majid Majidi, and more
Ishaan Khatter
Ishaan Khatter

Ishaan Khatter is all of 22 years old, and he has already bagged the Best Actor award at the 5th International Bosphorus Film Festival in Turkey for his debut film, Beyond the Clouds. With Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi at the helm, the actor says he couldn’t have asked for a better debut. “When my casting director told me that Majid Majidi wanted to see me after I submitted my mood shoot footage, it knocked my socks off,” says Ishaan who previously worked behind the camera as assistant director for Udta Punjab. “I woke up to a call asking me to go to the terrace and scream out that I am Majidi’s lead actor. Yeah, it was quite dramatic.”

On the sets of Beyond the Clouds with Majid Majidi 
On the sets of Beyond the Clouds with Majid Majidi 

Ishaan plays Aamir, an 18-year-old  from Mumbai who is largely raised by his elder sister, Tara, played by Malavika Mohanan. A street hustler and a tough kid, Aamir may seem like he has a rough exterior, but inside he’s just as sensitive and soft as any other teenager. Ishaan gushes about working with Majidi and says that he is an absolute craftsman and storyteller. He also describes him as someone who is meticulous, values relationships and above all — an affectionate man. Majidi’s illustrious career as a screenwriter and a director, is unparalleled. His 1998 movie, Children of Heaven was even nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film. So was there any added pressure working with a director of his stature? “I remember my mother telling me that I have to eliminate all self-doubt and mustn’t question anything, because if a person of his vision has faith in me, then the least I can do is have faith in myself,” says Ishaan about his mother Neelima Azeem, a yesteryear TV actress who is also actor, Shahid Kapoor’s mother.


While working with Majidi has been a dream come true for the young actor, he says that experience has been overwhelming. “I had to lose a lot of weight and was perennially low on sleep. But there’s so much junoon (passion), that you don’t see it as work.”  Owing to the raw intensity of the movie, he also adds that it was the emotional scenes that were the most demanding. Ishaan’s half-brother, actor Shahid Kapoor has been a constant source of motivation, with both of them sharing a common interest for acting and dancing. “He does give me advice, which is mostly just him talking,” he laughs, adding, 

“He took me for Mission Impossible when I was five years old, which in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have been watching at that age. As far as cinematic influences are concerned, I am more into eclectic and world cinema while he’s been watching a lot of TV shows and web series.” Ishaan will be seen next with Janhvi Kapoor in Dhadak, which is an adaptation of the Marathi blockbuster, Sairat. He hopes he can do a musical in the near future, but for now, this is the only movie he’s working on.  

Beyond The Clouds releases today.
 

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