Ishaan Khatter Reflects On Intimate Scenes With Tabu In A Suitable Boy: 'We Overlooked The Age Gap...'

Ishaan Khatter opens up about working with Tabu in A Suitable Boy, addressing their on-screen chemistry, age gap, and emotionally intimate scenes with trust and ease.

Ishaan Khatter and Tabu share an intense on-screen moment as Maan Kapoor and Saeeda Bai in the Netflix series A Suitable Boy, portraying a tender yet complex relationship rooted in trust, emotion, and mutual respect.

Source : IMDb

Ishaan Khatter has not only carved a niche for himself in Bollywood but has also made his presence felt in Hollywood projects, earning praise for his performances on both fronts. While his recent outing, The Royals, didn’t quite resonate with audiences, his earlier performance in A Suitable Boy showcased his depth and versatility as an actor. The Netflix adaptation, directed by Mira Nair, saw Khatter sharing screen space with acclaimed actress Tabu — a pairing that sparked considerable curiosity, especially due to the age difference between their characters.

Ishaan Khatter on working with Tabu in A Suitable Boy

In a recent interview with Zoom, Ishaan opened up about working alongside veteran actress Tabu and addressed the much-discussed intimate scenes between their characters, Maan Kapoor and Saeeda Bai. Despite initial skepticism from audiences about the age-gap dynamic, Ishaan emphasized that their on-screen chemistry was both “authentic” and “incredibly natural,” crediting Tabu for making the experience effortless.

“I think a lot of it is in the writing,” Ishaan explained. “If you were to put Tabu and me in another story, in another piece of writing, where we overlooked the age gap or didn’t address it, it might have looked out of place. But in A Suitable Boy, it was woven into the narrative. The text supported everything we were doing.”

The emotionally intense and complex bond between Maan, a young man, and Saeeda Bai, a sophisticated courtesan, is a central theme in the series. However, Ishaan shared that filming those intimate scenes was far from awkward. Instead, it was a deeply collaborative experience grounded in trust, professionalism, and mutual respect.

On intimate scenes

“With an actress like Tabu, honestly, you don’t even have to talk about it,” he said. “I wasn’t nervous at all. In fact, I felt safer because I was acting opposite someone who not only understood the nuances of the scene but could elevate it. That’s the beauty of working with her — we didn’t need to over-discuss the scenes; our eyes did the talking.”

Praising Tabu’s unique process, Ishaan added, “She’s very spontaneous — playful one moment and deeply immersed in character the next. She’d be joking about lunch or mimicking someone’s expressions, and then, within seconds, she’d slip into Saeeda Bai with such grace. It was just so much fun. Acting with her was like having a silent conversation — intense and meaningful — without saying a word.”