Most of us know Ishaan Khatter as an actor who debuted alongside Janhvi Kapoor in Karan Johar’s Dhadak. But interestingly, Dhadak wasn’t actually his debut film. Ishaan made his debut on the big screen with the acclaimed filmmaker Majid Majidi’s Beyond the Clouds in 2017. Although not mainstream cinema, the critically acclaimed film premiered at film festivals before making it to the 70 mm screens in the country. Majid Majidi is a legendary Iranian director and producer with multiple international awards on his shelf and even an Academy Awards nomination.
Majid Majidi didn’t let anyone talk to Ishaan
When mid-day sat down with Ishaan for a chat, we had to ask him about his experience working with a filmmaker of Majidi’s stature. Ishaan shares, “His sets used to be disciplined, there used to be silence on set, which you know is a luxury. For example, one day, he told the crew, ‘for this scene, I don`t want anyone to talk to Ishaan all day on set’.”
“And that`s what I needed to do to prepare. He never told me this, I never asked (why), but I was just in a corner that day. I was in my zone. I had my headphones on and it was one of the most intense scenes I had in the film. If you`ve seen it, it`s that scene with the birds and when I have a complete meltdown.”
“He just let me be in my own space and trusted me. Because by that point we`d been shooting for a while. Also, being trusted by a filmmaker of that calibre, it puts a certain responsibility on you, it`s a gift. So he works like that,” he adds.
Ishaan shares how they shot discreetly
Further talking about Majidi’s style of filming, he shared how they would discreetly shoot at crowded locations without the people around realising. He shared, “Like, for example, when you see a shot in Dhobi Ghat, or you see a shot at the Sunday fish market in Versova, none of those people knew we`re shooting.”
Elaborating on how they did that, Ishaan shares, “So it`s a wide shot. Anil Mehta, our DOP, is on a ladder on top with the camera on his shoulder, because it`s a bustling fish market. So they`ve (locals) actually not even noticed that there`s a man with a camera. And from 500 meters down on a walkie they`ve said, ‘start running.’ And we have four people, two people running for their lives with two cops chasing them. And all of these guys (locals) think that this is a real chase happening.”
He further added, “These are people with knives and fish market sellers and vendors. And so you just have to find your way through all of it and get out. There were people who chased us sometimes when we were doing those things, and we had to tell them, ‘We’re shooting, We’re shooting.’ So it was crazy. And you see that in the film like it just feels alive.”