Ishaan Khatter has never been one to fit into the typical Bollywood hero mould. The actor believes in showing emotion, sensitivity and honesty on screen. In a recent interaction, he spoke about how his
idea of masculinity has been shaped by the women in his life and the female gaze in cinema.
Speaking at the Yuvaa All Stars Roundtable 2025, Ishaan shared his views on how society teaches men what it means to be masculine. He said these ideas are often built on comparison rather than understanding. “Men are not taught to be men; they’re just taught not to be women. A lot of my understanding of what it means to be a man is in correlation with the relationship between men and women. Masculinity, to me, has been defined by the fact that I have been raised by a single mother,” he said. Ishaan is the son of actors Rajesh Khattar and Neelima Azim, who separated when he was six years old.
The actor also spoke about how being directed by women has helped him see storytelling from a different point of view. Since starting his career in 2017, Ishaan has worked with several female filmmakers, including Mira Nair, Nupur Asthana and Priyanka Ghose. Sharing how this influenced him as an actor, he said, “Because I have been subject to the female gaze and I have been privy to it, main usko kuch hadd tak samajh paaya hoon (I have understood it to some extent). Eight years of my career so far, I think I have worked with 50% female makers. Ek alag nazariya samajh paana bahut badi taaqat hoti hai (To understand a different perspective is a great strength), and that is what cinema is for. That is what we all do. The job is empathy.”
On the professional front, Ishaan was last seen in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound, which has been selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars this year. He also featured in the Netflix series The Royals, released earlier this year.
