Ishaan Khatter on Khaali Peeli: It was my first quintessentially heroic role

Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday starrer Khaali Peeli released on Zee Plex on a pay-per-view basis. But now, as the theatres are reopening in India soon, the makers of the film have planned a theatrical release as well.

The movie has received mixed reviews and Ishaan recently while talking to Hindustan Times revealed what excited him about the movie. The actor said, “It was the first role that presented me as a young man as opposed to a boy and it was also my first quintessentially heroic role, so there a lot of reasons why it excited me. I found the script to be very slick, contemporary, cool, and yet it had a flavour of the ‘80s and the ‘90s. I thought it was a very interesting space and that’s what excited me to play Blackie.”

Ishaan currently has two films lined up; PhoneBhoot with Katrina Kaif and Siddhant Chaturvedi and Pippa in which he will be seen playing the role of Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta.

The actor, who has started prepping up for PhoneBhoot, said, “I will simultaneously start preparing for another film, which is a slightly longer drawn process in terms of prep. It’s a gargantuan responsibility to play a Tank Commander and Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta. It’s the story about the 1971 war, the liberation of Bangladesh through our Army. It’s very exciting and will be up next after PhoneBhoot. So, I’ve my hands full with these two films right now.”

This year, Ishaan also featured in Mira Nair’s TV series A Suitable Boy which was aired on BBC. While talking about the response, he received for his work in the international series, the actor said, “Well, I value them both equally, be it international recognition or making a name in my own country. But it feels wonderful to be recognised solely for your work. It has been a great blessing to have an opportunity like this mini-series and then to be recognised and loved for it. I’m excited for the rest of the world to see it. So far it has only been the UK and Ireland, I’m looking forward to everybody seeing it and doing more work that transcends boundaries.”