Ishaan Khatter, who’s earning plaudits for his role in The Royals, recently looked back at a pivotal collaboration in his career—his performance opposite Tabu in Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy. In an interview with Zoom, the actor opened up about shooting intimate scenes with the veteran star and how her presence helped him stay grounded and at ease.
“She made me feel safe,” Ishaan said, reflecting on their working dynamic. “With an actress like Tabu, honestly, you don’t even need to talk about it. I wasn’t freaked out at all. In fact, I felt safer—because she understood what I was doing and could take it even further. That’s the beauty of working with her. We never had to discuss what we were doing in the scene—it just flowed.”
Ishaan attributed their natural on-screen chemistry to a combination of strong writing and Tabu’s ability to build unspoken rapport. He explained that the show didn’t ignore the age gap between their characters—instead, it acknowledged and incorporated it, lending authenticity to their connection.
Recalling moments from set, Ishaan said that Tabu could easily switch between mischief and seriousness. “She’s very naughty—like a child on set. She’d be joking around about lunch one moment and the next, she’d be fully immersed in the character. It was just so much fun because so much of acting is about the unsaid—how you make a moment dense, alive, and communicate without speaking. With Tabu, that happened seamlessly. It was like having a conversation with our eyes.”
A Suitable Boy, adapted from Vikram Seth’s celebrated novel, was directed by Mira Nair and featured a stellar ensemble cast including Tanya Maniktala, Rasika Dugal, Ram Kapoor, Vijay Varma, and Shahana Goswami. The story centres around Lata, a 19-year-old navigating love, tradition, and family pressure in post-partition India.
As for what’s next, Tabu will return to the big screen in Bhooth Bangla with Akshay Kumar and Paresh Rawal, directed by Priyadarshan. Meanwhile, Ishaan continues to ride high after the Cannes premiere of Homebound, which received a 9-minute standing ovation. Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and co-starring Janhvi Kapoor and Vishal Jethwa, the Karan Johar-backed film is among the most anticipated Indian titles of the year.