The Perfect Couple: I liked that my character was objectified

The Perfect Couple: I liked that my character was objectified

Source: BBC News
Getty Images Ishaan Khatter, a male actor at a premiere looking into the distance, wearing a white shirt and black blazer. The background is of green trees blurred and out of focus.
Ishaan Khatter says he has a “feeling of gratitude” for his success, but won’t let it go to his head

You’ve been walking the red carpet in London and LA and the show you’ve done with Nicole Kidman is in Netflix’s most-watched charts.

How does that feel?

“Overwhelming, in a good way,” 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 “was a no-brainer”, even though it was different to what he’s previously done.

“The most exciting thing about it, the most reassuring thing about it, was the way the character was written and the fact that it didn’t feel like a token diversity character,” he says.

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 Network’s Haroon Rashid, he says the casting process for The Perfect Couple was “ethnicity agnostic” and actors from various backgrounds auditioned.

He says his character Shooter is mysterious and “three-dimensional” and credits the writers and director Susanne Bier for this.

“The fun is to play into the red herrings,” he says.

“It’s all you want, for audiences to really be taken for a ride. And it’s a testament to good craft,” he says.

Netflix A still from Netflix show The Perfect Couple with Ishaan's character Shooter wearing a light brown or green vest and holding a phone as the character of Meritt, wearing a yellow top, puts her arm around him. There are green trees and landscape in the background.

A shower scene featuring Shooter was used in the show’s trailers and Ishaan says it was a rare example of a Hollywood production portraying a South Asian man as “desirable”.

“Yes, I was objectified,” he says, with a smile.

“It was one of the things that made the character unique and appealing to me.

“It makes it kind of a moment in history in that sense.

“I just thought it was a cool character in general and it was fun to play into that,” he says.

And he’s 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 “a new light”.

“As an audience I would be saying: ‘Hell yeah, this is what we should be doing more of.’

“I understand the sacredness of being put in a position where you’re representing on a global scale.

“I’m so happy to be in this position and to be able to be a part of something that is a stepping stone,” he says.

Getty Images The cast of The Perfect Couple, from left to right, Ishaan Khatter, Donna Lynne Champlin, Liev Schreiber, Meghann Fahy, Nicole Kidman, Susanne Bier, Eve Hewson, Mia Isaac, Sam Nivola and Michael Beach. At the Los Angeles Premiere, with "The Perfect Couple" written in white on a blue background behind the cast.

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