There's a huge mountain to surpass for star kids: Ishaan Khattar

Shahid Kapoor's brother Ishaan Khattar will be making his Bollywood debut in Majid Majid an Iranian director "Beyond The Clouds". In an interview with a leading daily, he opened up ab the out pressure on the star kids, what he thinks about nepotism and how he bagged the film.

When asked about the concept of nepotism, Ishaan said, "It's relative and depends on the individual and the family that one comes from. Since I can only speak for myself, I feel it's a mixed bag because I'm perceived to have a certain kind of lifestyle. My history is different from the general perception. I'm proud of my middle-class background because that's how I've grown up. I have my values and sensibilities. My house is rich in culture, cinema, and the performing arts. So, I 've also cultivated the same interests and it was only a natural progression for me to pursue that. It was never a career decision. It was always my heart that wanted to do this. So, I believe that everyone can't be clubbed into this bracket. I've worked towards self-development as an aspiring artiste. I've been most passionate about dancing and acting, so I have followed it obsessively. And that's the path and the journey that I chose to take. I never took this as a safe bet."

How did you get on board for Beyond The Clouds? On this, he said, "Karan (Johar) sir wanted to meet me because he had seen some pictures and footage of mine and thought I'm of eligible age to be cast in the kind of film that he wanted to back, as a producer."

"The only way he could get through to me was through my brother (Shahid Kapoor). He was doing a film with him at that time and they were also co-judging a show. So, he called me, met me, and I was in talks about this film. But, the subject changed and he was still getting to know me. He chose not to audition me. During this process, I got a call from Honey Trehan sir who did the casting for Udta Punjab, where I was an assistant. He asked me to not shave and keep going to the gym. That was just the extent of our conversation. I went to meet him and he told me, 'There's this film and you know who the director is? Majid Majidi' (laughs). I had a little cuckoo bird going off in my head and I was like, 'Whoa'. He (Majid) met me and on the basis of my audition, he chose me after shooting a video footage on live locations. So, it felt redeeming, but more than anything, it was overwhelming that I was going to be part of Majid Majidi's first Indian film. I had seen four of his films before and I went to watch all of them after that. My mother told me, 'Don't even question, just surrender'," added Ishaan.

Further into the conversation, when asked about pressure to deliver is higher for the star kids, Ishaan agreed and said, "That's true, I agree There's a huge mountain to surpass, to have to live up to a body of work right with your first film. People don't realise it's difficult. It's perhaps easier to start with a clean slate. For someone who doesn't have a family associated with the industry, they obviously find it tougher to get cast in a film simply because opportunities are taken up by people who are given preference. That's why there's a lot of frustration. But every individual has their own journey. Sometimes, one who has no connections gets a chance and ends up becoming a big film star. I was reading Dilip Kumar saab's autobiography. He didn't even plan on being an actor but he got an opportunity and look at him he's one of the greatest legends we have. To club anyone with anybody else is unreasonable."

What was the first reaction of his family after they saw the film? "The first time I saw the film was with my mother at the BFI Film Festival in London, where it premiered. I had seen the live cut amidst a lot of people. I was overwhelmed and at the same time, I was viewing it subjectively. I was getting all these reactions from an audience of a different nationality. In the middle of all this, when I had a moment to breathe, I asked my mother, 'What do you think?' (smiles). She was just looking at me the whole time and she cried after the film. She told me, 'Who are you?' and it freaked me out. For a moment, I was like, 'What are you saying, mom?' She knows me best and I hadn't interacted with her for three-and-a-half months," said Ishaan.

Adding more to the madness acting concept and notion, he said, "I discovered that there was a method to the madness while working on this film. There's a different method on Dhadak. The method is to adapt to the director's working style and obviously mix in your own. I'm not a method actor because it refers to a certain kind of technique of acting that I have studied about and I know I'm not one of them. I've not trained as an actor, but I do have a certain prerequisite where I want to prepare myself a certain way in context to the whole environment I'm going to be part of. But 'method acting' is a very misinterpreted term."

When asked did people tell him not to BTC his first film as it can be a risk, he said, "I don't think I asked anybody who would tell me not to do the film, for advice. I told my mother, my brother, and because I was under a verbal professional commitment with Karan sir, I spoke to him. I told him I wanted to do this film and BTC would then be my first film. He understood the kind of opportunity I was getting and asked me to go ahead and do it. That changed a lot of things for him too the way he would be presenting Dhadak. But he was fine with it. I was honest with him and he saw that. These were the only three people that I thought were necessary to consult because, in my heart, I had made an affirmative decision. I was so elated when Majidi sir said 'lock this boy' that there were no two ways about it. So nobody advised me not to do it. The only thing my brother said was, 'Do it right. Just know what you're doing'. He's always the voice of reason and sees that possibility."

Is he ready to take both failure and success? On this, he said, "I don't know. I also have a different definition of failure and success. Again, it's very subjective. Some might define that as being part of a film that does reasonably well at the box office but helps them grow as an artist. If you keep bettering yourself slowly, that can be someone's definition (of success), too. Somebody might be part of a film that does exceedingly well and brings great numbers but isn't considered great cinema. To them, that's success. On the other hand, there are people who do films that are critically appreciated but don't work at the box office, while somebody might do films that do all of these. I'm hoping my films will be the latter. I want to follow my heart, do good work and pray that it connects with the audience. And, as it so deserves, performs well, too. A lot of people feel that BTC is a risky film to be part of because it's a different kind of cinema, it's a unique film. But I think it would be rewarding if that translates into good numbers. Then, I will be able to do what I want and be who I am rather than trying to be somebody else. That's how I would want to be accepted. I want to retain who I am and just add to that."