Ishaan Khatter shared an incident where army officers made a sarcastic remark about older actors portraying captains and majors in Bollywood movies. Contrary to the perception that he was too young to play an army officer in the film Pippa, Ishaan clarified that during the shoot, he was the same age as the real-life soldier, Captain Balram Singh Mehta, whom he portrays. Captain Mehta pointed out the industry’s trend of casting actors much older than their real-life counterparts.
In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, addressing concerns about his age, Ishaan expressed the responsibility of taking on such a role. He highlighted the significance of age-appropriate casting in a large-scale war movie like Pippa, emphasizing that Captain Balram was 26 during the war, coincidentally the same age as Ishaan during the shoot.
Ishaan explained the concept of “screenage,” acknowledging that leading actors work hard to build a screen persona over the years. However, he found it interesting that army officers commented on Bollywood’s tendency to cast older actors as captains and majors, suggesting that it implies they are not suitable for such roles. Director Raja Krishna Menon humorously added that if someone is a captain at 40, they must be a really bad captain.
Set against the backdrop of the India-Pakistan war in 1971, Pippa focuses on the crucial Battle of Garibpur and follows a tank squadron led by Ishaan’s character. The film, also featuring Mrunal Thakur and Priyanshu Painyuli, is scheduled for release on Prime Video on November 10.
