‘My pillar to lean on’: Ishaan Khatter thanks brother Shahid Kapoor, posts long note on Guru Purnima

On Sunday, a number of Bollywood celebrities spoke about their teachers on Guru Purnima. Ishaan Khatter posted a bunch of pictures and videos with brother Shahid Kapoor, mother Neelima and others to express his gratitude on the occasion.

Sharing one picture from when he was an infant with Shahid holding him in his lap, he wrote: “My pillar to lean on.” The picture shows Shahid as a pre-teen boy himself. Sharing another post with Shahid, from an awards function, Ishaan wrote: “Bhai, who has shown me by example the value of perseverance, hard work and patience.”

Ishaan also wrote about his mother, actor and dancer Neelima Azeem. Writing about his mother, he said, “Ma.. who has taught me and continues to teach me everyday to be a good person and artist. Hope I ca live up to your values always.”

Ishaan was gracious enough to thank all those who have influenced his journey thus far - he made a special mention of dancer and choreographer Shiamak Davar, his Beyond the Clouds director - Iranian maestro Majid Majidi, Dhadak director Shashank Khaitan, Udta Punjab director Abhishek Chaubey (Ishaan posted pictures with Abhishek during the shoot of the film) and his upcoming film Suitable Boy’s director Mira Nair among others.

He made a special mention of producer Karan Johar and wrote: “Captain K. Generous and enterprising in equal measure.. and the emperor of wit!”

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Ishaan has, of course, spoken at length about his brother. He definitely counts Shahid as one of the biggest influences in his life. After the release of his debut film, speaking to Filmfare, he had said: “Yes, of course. His first film (Ishq Vishk) released in 2003. I was eight when he became a film star. I was fascinated by it all. So I’d run around with him on his sets. I was on his sets almost every day. I’d watch the actors, the cinematographers... Initially, I loved him and idolised him. Then I started watching his films more seriously. I started asking him questions like how he prepared for a certain role, what inspired him or how he enacted a particular role. Eventually, I was able to assist in a film (Udta Punjab), in which he was also performing. I had my own set of responsibilities as well. It was interesting as I was both objective and subjective. Shahid’s been a big influence in my life.”

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