Ishaan Khatter, who made waves with his Hollywood debut in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, followed it up with a buzzworthy role in The Royals. The romantic comedy-drama cast him as a dashing prince, with several shirtless scenes that sparked conversation — and criticism — around his objectification. In a recent chat, Ishaan revealed he did express discomfort with the way his character was portrayed.

Speaking to Mashable India, Ishaan said, “It’s that kind of character jo shirt nahi pehenta hai. To be honest, now it will look like… but since I had committed I went for it. But I did fight with them on certain days that ‘I can wear shirt in this scene. It doesn’t require him to be shirtless.’” He added that the makers would still find clever ways to justify his semi-nude scenes, like covering up with a blanket while asleep. “But I had fun doing it,” he said with a laugh.

While The Royals faced flak for its superficial plot and lacklustre performances, it became one of Netflix’s most-watched shows. It featured a star-studded ensemble including Bhumi Pednekar, Zeenat Aman, Sakshi Tanwar, Nora Fatehi, Vihaan Samat, Dino Morea, and Milind Soman.

Ishaan, who built a chiselled physique for The Royals, had to undergo a dramatic transformation soon after for his next film — Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound. The actor shared, “The director told me I’d have to lose all the muscles. I was like, ‘Yeah, okay’. He said, ‘You have to look normal.’” Ishaan ended up shedding 8 kilos for the role.

Homebound, Ghaywan’s second feature film, premiered at the 78th Cannes Film Festival and received a nine-minute standing ovation. The film is co-produced by Karan Johar and has Hollywood icon Martin Scorsese as its executive producer.