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Ishaan Khatter says that he’s not ‘threatened’ by women with a voice and he owes it to being ‘single-handedly’ raised by his mother, Neelima Azeem.
As per reports, Ishaan Khatter has been dating Malaysian model Chandni Bainz since 2023.
Ishaan Khatter, who is reportedly dating Malaysian model Chandni Bainz since 2023, has mostly kept his love life private. However, in an exclusive chat with Showsha, the actor opened up about his views on romance and shared memories of his first relationship. Reflecting on the theme of opposites attracting, also central to his latest project The Royals, Ishaan recalled his teenage love story that began with a fiery classroom clash and turned into a full-blown high school romance.
He tells us, “I definitely believe that opposites attract. We’ve evidence of it in the form of plus and minus. I, in my life, have experienced it when it comes to love. I was in a relationship that started with a fight. It was totally filmi! It was a high school romance. It was my first love and after it ended, I felt like everything was over. It was a sweet sixteen romance that started with us literally insulting each other (laughs)! We had the fight in front of the whole classroom. We then had a debate after which, I told myself, ‘She’s cute though!’ And then Cupid struck.”
However, he’s quick to add that he wouldn’t say that the relationship began with hate as he remarks, “Hate is a strong emotion but it’s a very thin line.” When it comes to love, Ishaan says that he’s hardly threatened by ‘women with agenda’ but has no qualms admitting that most men can’t bear the thought of having a strong woman as a partner. “Over the years, we’ve seen that women with a voice typically threaten men as much as they say that they’re comfortable with such women. The second it starts becoming a conversation, you can see them becoming a little thorny,” Ishaan states.
And he owes this mindset to his mother, Neelima Azeem. Raising children as a single woman is no mean feat but Ishaan feels she did so effortlessly. For the unversed, she was first married to Pankaj Kapur. Following a divorce with him, she married Rajesh Khattar in 1990 and their divorce was finalised in 2001. He lauds her for ‘single-handedly’ bringing him up and his elder brother, Shahid Kapoor, while continuing her career as an actor and dancer.
“In my case, I was raised by a single mother. So, all I’ve known is a woman with agency. I’ve seen her balance life. She single-handedly not just brought the bread home but also raised two boys. Even our show, The Royals, thankfully, isn’t a pseudo-feministic notion where a woman feels the need to overpower. It’s about seeing a man and a woman as equals and as flesh-and-blood human beings beyond the exterior,” says Ishaan, who’s next film Homebound is all set to compete at the Cannes International Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category.
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