‘Ishaan Has Been Advised To Do Herogiri’

‘When
Shahid,
Ishaan
and
I
are
together,
it
is
a
madhouse
because
we
are
all
performers.’

“I
am
happier
watching
them
dance
than
dancing
myself,”

Neelima
Azeem
says
proudly,
referring
to
her
sons,
Shahid
Kapoor
and
Ishaan
Khatter.

She
reveals
much
more
about
her
star
sons,
and
tells


Rediff
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya,
“My
sons
are
similar
in
the
way
they
walk
and
neither
has
worked
with
an
eye
to
the
box
office.”

‘Though
the
divorce
was
by
mutual
consent,
I
was
worried
the
subject
may
be
a
little
too
close
to
home
and
might
upset
him’

When
Shahid
was
seven,
he
acted
in
a
series
whose
title
I
can’t
recall,
but
the
episode
was
called

Child
Custody.

His
parents,
played
by
Anita
Kanwar
and
Kanwaljeet
Singh,
are
divorced
and
in
court
for
the
custody
of
their
child.

There
was
a
scene
where
the
judge
awards
custody
to
the
father.
When
the
mother
informs
the
child
that
he
will
have
to
wait
till
he
is
18
before
deciding
whom
he
wants
to
be
with,
he
hugs
her
tightly
and
bursts
into
tears.

By
then,
Pankaj
(Kapur)
and
I
had
separated.
Though
the
divorce
was
by
mutual
consent
and
there
had
been
no
ugliness,
I
was
worried
the
subject
may
be
a
little
too
close
to
home
and
might
upset
him.

But
even
when
Pankaj
and
I
were
together,
Shahid
had
lived
in
Delhi
with
my
parents
and
me,
his
aunt,
uncle
and
cousin
Meghna.
He
would
come
to
Mumbai
once
a
year,
on
his
birthday,
to
meet
his
father,
who
had
moved
here
to
pursue
a
career
in
acting.

When
Shahid
was
10,
I
shifted
to
Mumbai
as
well,
to
work
as
an
actress
and
was
waiting
for
him
to
finish
his
school
term
before
he
joined
me.

During
those
eight-nine
months,
I
would
fly
down
to
Delhi
frequently.

When
he
started
shooting
for

Child
Custody,
I
would
accompany
him
to
the
shoot
and
was
amazed
to
see
how
professional
he
was
for
a
child
of
his
age,
discussing
technical
aspects
like
lighting
and
colour
blocking
with
confidence.

Five
minutes
before
the
final
heart-wrenching
scene
was
canned,
Shahid
was
playing
football
outside
but
as
soon
as
he
faced
the
camera,
he
broke
down,
beautifully
bringing
out
emotions
hard
for
a
seven-year-old
child
to
understand.

Looking
at
the
performance,
so
natural
and
evocative,
I
knew
he
was
a
gifted
actor.

‘He
auditioned
for

Ishq
Vishk,
but
was
rejected
because
he
was
too
skinny’

I’m
a
popular
actress
myself,
with
a
huge
fan
following,
who
back
then
was
constantly
in
the
news
for
my
performances,
dancing,
looks
and
charm.

My
career
took
a
backseat
after
Shahid,
and
then
Ishaan,
was
born.

I
got
busy
bringing
up
my
children
and
later,
spending
time
with
my
grandchildren.

Now
that
they
have
all
grown
up,
urged
on
by
my
sons,
I
want
to
get
back
to
acting
and
dance.

Pankaj
too
is
a
talented
and
famous
actor,
well
established
in
the
Hindi
film
industry
now,
but
Shahid
has
never
sought
our
help.

He’s
a
self-made
actor
who
has
done
everything
on
his
own,
even
going
to
auditions
alone.

He
was
cute
then,
with
lovely
expressive
eyes
and
a
smile
to
die
for,
and
quickly
bagged
big
commercials
like
Pepsi
and
Close-Up,
along
with
music
videos.

Several
filmmakers
were
waiting
for
him
to
grow
up.

Ramesh
Taurani
wanted
to
launch
him
after
seeing
him
in
the
Aryans’
music
video

Aankhon
Mein
and
he
auditioned
for

Ishq
Vishk,
but
was
rejected
because
he
was
too
skinny.

He
bulked
up
and
went
back
for
a
second
audition,
this
time
landing
the
film.

I
would
visit
the
sets
often
and
was
impressed
with
his
talent,
energy
and
charisma.

‘Neither
sons
have
worked
with
an
eye
to
the
box
office’

Ishaan
is
also
a
fine
and
charismatic
actor,
who,
since
his
debut,
has
raised
expectations
and
got
a
lot
of
love.

My
sons
are
similar
in
the
way
they
walk
and
neither
has
worked
with
an
eye
to
the
box
office.

Ishaan
enjoys
working
with
mainstream
filmmakers.
At
the
same
time,
he
is
not
big
on
success
and
wants
to
collaborate
with
directors
with
whom
he
can
grow
as
an
actor
irrespective
of
whether
they
are
from
a
different
cinema
or
school
of
filmmaking.

I
still
remember
how
excited
he
was
when
Majid
Majidi,
the
internationally
acclaimed
Iranian
filmmaker
of
classics
like

Children
of
Heaven,
The
Colour
of
Paradise
and

Baran,
offered
the
lead
in

Beyond
the
Clouds.

But
he
was
afraid
he
might
have
to
turn
down
the
coveted
project
because
he
had
already
signed

Dhadak.

I
asked
him
to
speak
with
Karan
Johar,

Dhadak‘s
producer,
who
generously
told
him
he
would
not
stop
him
from
working
with
Majid
Majidi
and
despite
giving
him
a
break,
let
him
be
introduced
by
another
filmmaker.

I
was
stunned
when
I
saw
his
performance
in
his
first
film,
it
wasn’t
that
of
a
debutant.

Beyond
the
Clouds
was
followed
by

Dhadak,
a
serious
mainstream
Bollywood
film
with
songs,
dance
and
tragic
drama.

‘Haider
marked
a
turnaround
in
Shahid’s
career’

When
Shahid
entered
the
industry,
there
weren’t
too
many
opportunities
for
Indian
actors
to
collaborate
with
directors
from
other
cinemas
like
Majidi.

Ishq
Vishk
also
made
him
a
popular
star
in
Bollywood’s
mainstream
and
as
a
senior
actress,
I
appreciated

Vivah‘s
Indian
and
sensitive
Prem
and

Jab
We
Met‘s
soft
and
empathetic
Aditya.

The
double
role
in

Kaminey
left
me
awe-struck
while

Chup
Chup
Ke
proved
my
boy
had
a
knack
for
comedy
too.

Then
some
of
his
regular
commercial
films
which
had
him
as
a
chocolate
box
hero
flopped
and
I
think
that’s
when
he
made
a
conscious
decision
to
do
something
bold
and
out-of-the-box.

Haider
was
an
eye-opener
and
marked
a
turnaround
in
his
career.

Over
the
last
decade,
we
have
seen
him
in
a
procession
of
diverse
roles,
from
Tommy
Singh
in

Udta
Punjab
to

Kabir
Singh,
from

Farzi
to
the
more
recent

Deva
which
is
doing
very
well
on
Netflix.

Jerseyis
another
favourite,
a
masterful
performance,
with
so
much
finesse
and
subtlety.

Like

Beyond
the
Clouds,
I
have
watched

Jersey
10
times
already,
both
being
my
favourite
performances.

I
would
have
seen

Haider
10
times
too
had
there
been
more
screenings
and
if
it
was
streaming
on
OTT.

Today,
Shahid
has
found
his
own
niche
with
a
strong
understanding
of
the
technicalities
of
his
craft
and
Bollywood’s
biggest
and
best
should
exploit
this
powerhouse
of
talent
more.

‘When
Shahid,
Ishaan
and
I
are
together,
it
is
a
madhouse
because
we
are
all
performers’

Ishaan
has
been
transitioning
effortlessly
from
the
British
miniseries

A
Suitable
Boy
to
a
Bollywood
horror
comedy

Phone
Booth,
from
the
war
drama

Pippa
to
the
American
Netflix
limited
series

The
Perfect
Couple.

The
Netflix
show

The
Royals
has
just
started
streaming
and
his
senior
co-star,
Zeenat
Aman
has
praised
him
highly,
calling
him
a
‘rising
superstar’
to
watch
out
for.

While
he
has
impressed
in
the
company
of
fine
actors
from
other
cinemas
in
intelligent
films
and
shows,
Ishaan
has
often
been
advised
to
keep
one
foot
in
commercial
Indian
cinema
which
gives
him
a
chance
to
sing,
dance
and
do
some
herogiri.

The
Royals
is
right
up
the
street.

He
will
also
be
seen
in
Neeraj
Ghaywan’s

Homebound,
an
emotional
drama,
very
different
from

The
Royals.

I
will
accompany
Ishaan
to
Cannes
where

Homebound
is
premiering
and
walk
the
red
carpet
with
him.

Earlier,
I
had
gone
with
him
to
London
and
Istanbul
for
the
screenings
of

Beyond
the
Clouds.

More
recently,
we
took
a
mother-son
trip
together
for
Singapore
Tourism.

When
Shahid,
Ishaan
and
I
are
together,
it
is
a
madhouse
because
we
are
all
performers.

Despite
doing
so
much
work
myself,
I
am
a
loyalist,
admirer
and
fan
of
my
sons.

I
am
happier
watching
them
dance
than
dancing
myself.

For
one
of
my
own
screenings,
I
just
walk
in,
but
when
it’s
one
of
their
films,
there
is
so
much
enthusiasm,
excitement,
expectations
and
euphoria.

I
revel
in
their
excellence
and
achievements
as
only
a
mother
can.