Ishaan Khatter’s Second Coming
After seven years in Bollywood, ‘The Perfect Couple’ star is making waves globally and carving out his own niche. It’s about time.
As far as conventional Bollywood debuts go, Ishaan Khatter didn’t have one. In 2017, Khatter — half-brother of actor Shahid Kapoor — entered the movies with a lead role in Beyond the Clouds, a low-budget, realist drama about two siblings in the nexus of the Mumbai underworld. Even though feted Iranian director Majid Majidi helmed the uneven movie, it didn’t have the kind of fanfare that usually accompanies a star kid launch. And so, Beyond the Clouds flew under the radar. But Khatter’s turn didn’t go unnoticed, earning him critical acclaim and a Filmfare for Best Male Debut.
Seven years since, Khatter’s ambit as an actor has widened. Earlier this month, the 28-year-old made his English-language debut with The Perfect Couple, a Netflix series featuring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Meghann Fahy, and Eve Hewson. In the six-episode murder mystery, Khatter holds his own as Shooter Dival, a charismatic yet mysterious man who falls for his best friend’s fiancée. Since its release, The Perfect Couple has dominated global TV charts, catapulting Khatter into the spotlight and transforming him from Bollywood blue blood to Hollywood’s new “it boy” almost overnight.