He is all of 22. But he has already worked with iconic Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi in his maiden India-set movie Beyond The Clouds. Now Ishaan Khatter is geared up for the release of his second big canvas entertainer Dhadak. He says he is very fortunate to get offered variety so early in his career.
"I am fortunate to be offered variety in such a short span of time. I managed to make my debut with my favourite Majid Majidi, whereas Dhadak is giving me a huge mass exposure. I just hope that I maintain the balance. Critics have been so kind of me to praise my performance in my debut film," Ishaan told IANS in an interview here.
"I want to be a part of good films, those that help me to grow as a performer. Being a movie buff, I am really fortunate to make it my profession," he added.
In Dhadak, produced by Karan Johar and directed by Shashank Khaitan, Ishaan plays a Rajasthani boy who is obsessed with films from the 1990s. It's a character very different from his last release Beyond The Clouds, in which he played a drug peddler.
How did he change his acting style for Dhadak, in which he is paired with newcomer Janhvi Kapoor?
"I had to mould myself depending on the demand and vision of the director I was working with. Of course, the world of these two films are very different, so we tend to think that the audience would also be different. But I do not want to label films that way.
"My acting style changes according to the way a character is imagined," said the young actor, who is influenced by many international superstars like late King of Pop Michael Jackson and French dancers Les Twins, apart from Indian classical dance exponent Birju Maharaj.
During the filming of Dhadak, Ishaan established a strong bond with the film's director as they travelled on the streets of Rajasthan, in Jaipur and Udaipur.
"Finally when I went on the set, I did not feel like I am coming for work. It was just so much fun! In fact, in between, Janhvi and I were saying that 'W hope our work is happening because we are not feeling any pressure'," said the fanboy of filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
Son of actress Neelima Azeem and step brother of actor Shahid Kapoor, Ishaan has grown up seeing the world of showbiz closely.
As the definition of stardom is constantly changing with time, asked about his video on the whole game of handling attention, publicity and paparazzi all the time, Ishaan said: "I will see how it comes. But at the end of the day, my aim is to learn and live a life that offers me a growth as an artiste."
Dhadak, a Hindi remake of Marathi film Sairat, is releasing on July 20.