Ishaan Khatter calls The Perfect Couple co-star Nicole Kidman 'iconic'

Actor Ishaan Khatter says he had a great experience filming his Hollywood debut series The Perfect Couple, headlined by global star Nicole Kidman. Khatter said he has finished shooting for a major portion of the Netflix series, based on American author Elin Hilderbrand's novel of the same name. It is directed by Birdbox fame filmmaker Susanne Bier.

"I've shot a large part of it and it's my foray into Hollywood. It's been a great experience. Of course, Nicole is one of the most iconic film stars that we all know and we love in India as well.

"So, I understand that there's a lot of curiosity about her. And there are many more awesome cast members, wonderful actors. And that will also be out for the people to see on Netflix next year," the 27-year-old actor told PTI in a group interview on the sidelines of the Jagran Film Festival (JFF) here on Saturday.

Also featuring Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning and Eve Hewson, The Perfect Couple follows Amelia (Hewson) who is about to marry into a wealthy Nantucket Winbury family, to the disapproval of their matriarch novelist (Kidman).

Khatter, known for movies Beyond the Clouds, Dhadak, Phone Bhoot and Khaali Peeli, essays the role of Shooter Dival, the best friend of the groom Benji Winbury (Billy Howle).

The show marks the second international project for Khatter following Netflix's Mira Nair-directed miniseries A Suitable Boy (2020).

Working on the The Perfect Couple was "not very different from what it's like to make movies and tell stories" in India, Khatter said.

"It's just a great opportunity. I taped my audition and they liked it which is why they called me I guess," he added.

At home, the actor is looking forward to his next feature film Pippa, a biopic on Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta, a veteran of the 45th Cavalry tank squadron, who, along with his siblings, fought on the eastern front during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

Directed by Raja Krishna Menon, the movie is based on Brigadier Mehta’s book The Burning Chaffees. Its title is taken from the Russian amphibious war tank called the PT-76, popularly known as Pippa, which was used in the 1971 War.

Khatter said the film, which also stars Mrunal Thakur, Priyanshu Painyuli and Soni Razdan, will "come out soon".

"We have made the film with all hard work and thorough research. We got the opportunity to do two camps with the Army. It required a lot of preparation and I interacted a lot with Balram sir.

"It is an important story that needs to be taken to the audiences, especially the youth. I personally know that a lot of people don't know about this chapter of our history. It focuses on the Bangladesh liberation war in which India played an important role," the actor added.

Khatter said when he started his journey in cinema five years ago with Majid Majidi's Beyond the Clouds he was just following his instincts.

"The modus operandi was earlier not in place. It was very scattered. I was trying to expand my understanding of acting, storytelling, and cinema. Anything that I felt gave me an opportunity to do that and to grow as an actor, I took that opportunity."

He added that he has "more clarity of the kind of work" he wants to do going forward.

"Hopefully there will be more of a modus operandi in place. But the fact is that I've also been very lucky to get diverse work. It's rare as a young actor to be allowed to play such diverse characters. I don't know what it is that people are able to see me in these different parts.

"I've had a crack at them. Some have been loved more than others and I hope I've learned in these five years exactly the path I want to take forward so that I can hopefully surprise you every time," Khatter said.