The Perfect Couple: I liked that my character was objectified
Youâve been walking the red carpet in London and LA and the show youâve done with Nicole Kidman is in Netflixâs most-watched charts.
How does that feel?
âOverwhelming, in a good way,â says Indian actor Ishaan Khatter.
The past few weeks have been intense for the 28-year-old, who plays Shooter Dival in murder mystery The Perfect Couple.
Ishaan says taking the part âwas a no-brainerâ, even though it was different to what heâs previously done.
âThe most exciting thing about it, the most reassuring thing about it, was the way the character was written and the fact that it didnât feel like a token diversity character,â he says.
âYes, I was objectifiedâ
Ishaan, from Mumbai, has largely made his name in Bollywood with films like Pippa and Dhadak, also starring in BBC drama A Suitable Boy.
Speaking to BBC Asian Networkâs Haroon Rashid, he says the casting process for The Perfect Couple was âethnicity agnosticâ and actors from various backgrounds auditioned.
He says his character Shooter is mysterious and âthree-dimensionalâ and credits the writers and director Susanne Bier for this.
âThe fun is to play into the red herrings,â he says.
âItâs all you want, for audiences to really be taken for a ride. And itâs a testament to good craft,â he says.
A shower scene featuring Shooter was used in the showâs trailers and Ishaan says it was a rare example of a Hollywood production portraying a South Asian man as âdesirableâ.
âYes, I was objectified,â he says, with a smile.
âIt was one of the things that made the character unique and appealing to me.
âIt makes it kind of a moment in history in that sense.
âI just thought it was a cool character in general and it was fun to play into that,â he says.
And heâs aware of how significant this shift could be going forward in giving more opportunities for South Asian actors in Western productions.
Ishaan says viewers will see young male Indian actors in âa new lightâ.
âAs an audience I would be saying: âHell yeah, this is what we should be doing more of.â
âI understand the sacredness of being put in a position where youâre representing on a global scale.
âIâm so happy to be in this position and to be able to be a part of something that is a stepping stone,â he says.
Earning a place on a cast which already contained the likes of Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber and Dakota Fanning led Ishaan to ask director Susanne why she picked him.
He was taken aback at her answer: âShe was like: âI feel like you could be happy. You have it in you to be a happy person.â
âShe was looking for a similar string in the character,â he says.
But despite having âa young career so farâ, he felt prepared enough âto have the self-confidence to hold my own and be myselfâ.
âSo Iâm just doing me. Iâm not going to do anything different.â
He also credits those names and the wider team for helping him through difficult moments.
Ishaan says filming in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was a âlong, drawn-out processâ over four months, and a place where where he experienced homesickness for the first time.
But he says the cast bonded and that proved to be the difference.
âWe only had each otherâs company,â he says.
âBeing able to hang out, do activities like axe-throwing or whale-watching.
âIt definitely helped with the homesickness.â
Despite the positive reviews for his performance, Ishaan is not getting carried away.
âThereâs definitely a lot of self-checking going on,â he says.
âEgo is the death of the actor and it genuinely matters to me to keep growing.
âIâm more interested in finding my potential than showing off what Iâve already done, thatâs not interesting to me.
âIt means a lot to get the feedback from the audience.
âThis is what we do it for.
âThe love has been just beautiful and overwhelming in the nicest way.â