Ishaan Khatter recalls his days working as an assistant director on the sets of Udta Punjab. He reveals he stayed at a different hotel than his brother Shahid Kapoor, and lost 4 kilos of weight within a week on sets
Ishaan Khatter
Ishaan Khatter may be a reckoning force today, winning millions with his charm and persona, but once upon a time, he was just another curious, enthusiastic and excited assistant director on multiple films, including Udta Punjab. Yes, the same film that was headlined by his brother Shahid Kapoor. As the brother of Shahid Kapoor, many would think Ishaan Khatter would enjoy a lot of privileges on the sets. However, Ishaan has a different story to tell.
During a fun and hearty chat on mid-day’s podcast series The Bombay Film Story, Ishaan revealed how that wasn’t the case. Here is an excerpt from the interview
Ishaan Khatter reveals he and Shahid stayed in different hotels
Ishaan opens up about how Shahid was reluctant to have his brother on set and how the former he was just an ordinary guy from the crew. He reveals being in awe of Abhishek Chaubey, the director of Udta Punjab, saying, “When I saw Dedh Ishqiyan, I was like, this is a director who has a language that is so rich. I feel like I'll really get to learn a lot with him. And I was really drawn to his work. And it turned out, his next film was with Bhai (Shahid Kapoor)”
However, he says Shahid refused to put in a word for him. He shared, “His (Shahid Kapoor) concern was, ‘Dude, this is too important a role for me. You'll be distracted. I'll have to babysit you on set. No effing way.’ And I was like, ‘Why would you babysit me? I'll be there doing my own thing. I'll have my own responsibilities.”
Ishaan further shares, “I was living in a different hotel. He was living in the actor's fancy hotel. And I was with the crew. But he was like, ’no way in hell I will be distracted. I don't want to think only that my brother is on set’.”
Ishaan lost 4kgs in a week
Ishaan shares that after persistently trying, Shahid finally allowed him to meet Abhishek, who thought Ishaan could be a helping hand. He went on to share, “ I started off with, I was given the printer on day one. 4 a.m. in Taran. We're all freezing. We're making this film. There's a lot of gorilla shooting. Find the base. Make sure the sides are printed, and get it to the actors. Then they realised, okay, this boy is quick on his feet. So I became the runner. Then second day onwards, they made me the main clap boy, because I figured lensing out quickly. Next, I figured out how to get in, get out. Do not come in the way, be quiet, and become a fly on the wall. So main clap boy."
He further adds, “Now the continuity team is like, okay, he's good with continuity. So they started giving me that. By the first week, I was doing 8 jobs. I was dying. I had lost 4 kilos. But I was loving it. I was like, I'm getting to do everything. And I genuinely love it. It was the best training ground.”
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