India: Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter is getting attention for his role in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, a murder mystery starring Nicole Kidman. Known for picking diverse roles to move beyond the “nepo baby” tag, Khatter has shared how his role in the series was groundbreaking for him as a South Asian actor in Western media.
In an interview with BBC Asia’s Haroon Rashid, Khatter discussed being objectified in his role. He plays Shooter, a wealthy Indian man portrayed as very attractive—a rare image for South Asian men in global cinema. Rashid noted that while Indian actresses like Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone often get glamorous roles, Indian men don’t usually get shown as desirable.
Khatter agreed, saying, “Yes, I was objectified. It was one of the things that made the character unique and appealing to me.” He saw it as a chance to play a complex character and said he hadn’t had a role like this even in Bollywood.
Khatter’s performance in The Perfect Couple represents a new way Hollywood is portraying South Asian men.
