Ishaan Khatter’s latest film, Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, is competing in the Best International Feature category at next year’s Academy Awards. It has been selected as India’s official Oscar entry. Ishaan plays Shoaib, a marginalized Muslim boy who is best friends with Chandan (Vishal Jethwa), a Dalit boy. The two go to both the temple and the mosque.
Ishaan was also raised in a multicultural and interfaith environment. He was raised by his mother, actress Neelima Azeem, and his father, Rajesh Khattar, is a Hindu. He is the half-brother of actor Shahid Kapoor. In an interview for Mojo Story, Ishaan told Barkha Dutt, “For me, that’s actually my idea of India. When you grow up in a home that’s, in other words, pluralistic, secular, or just open and liberal, you grow up like I did, going to temples, mosques, churches, and all those places, trying to embrace the beauty of all these religions, cultures, and beliefs.”
Ishaan continued, “In that sense, we’re a very well-functioning democracy. When you go to a place like New York or London, you realize it’s a cultural hub or a melting pot of so many different cultures. Maybe that’s the progressive way. It allows for so much growth in society, just different perspectives and different people bringing their own strengths.”
However, the actor said that Homebound goes beyond the friendship between a Hindu and a Muslim boy. Ishaan said, “It’s the story of two marginalized boys who empathize with each other and understand each other in a way that others, who don’t have the same difficulties in their lives, can’t.”
