‘Ibrahim Ali Khan is better than Saif Ali Khan was in his debut film’: Vikram Bhatt predicts he’ll ‘be a big star’

Khushi Kapoor and Ibrahim Ali Khan faced brutal trolling on social media after the release of their film Nadaaniyan. Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt came to their defense.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | Updated: March 18, 2025 09:56 AM IST

3 min read

Saif Ali Khan's son Ibrahim Ali Khan's made his Bollywood debut with Karan Johar's Nadaaniyan. (Pic: Karan/Instagram)

Saif Ali Khan’s son, Ibrahim Ali Khan, made his acting debut with Karan Johar’s Nadaaniyan. While it’s a dream for many actors to be launched by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, it didn’t go as planned for Ibrahim, as he and his co-star Khushi Kapoor faced brutal trolling on social media. In a recent interaction, filmmaker Vikram Bhatt came to their defense.

In a conversation with Galatta India, Vikram argued that although he wasn’t a fan of Nadaaniyan, he didn’t find anything particularly wrong with Ibrahim or Khushi’s acting skills. He said, “I am not able to understand the trolling that the film is facing on social media as I like both the lead actors—Khushi and Ibrahim. I liked Ibrahim, it’s a different matter whether the film is good or not. But these days, there is an argument about nepotism, and to win that argument, you have to be superb, but that’s not fair for newcomers. It’s his first film. Who does superb in their first film? He has a presence in front of the camera, you can tell that he knows acting. So, I am sad about this whole thing.”

He added, “I didn’t find any problem in his acting. The film wasn’t the type that I would watch, but I am also not the target audience for this film. It’s for Gen Z and the teenagers. As a director, I found Ibrahim and Khushi good.”

Also read | Khushi Kapoor and Ibrahim Ali Khan must be ‘traumatised’ after Nadaaniyan bashing: Hansal Mehta blames actors’ advisors

Vikram further spoke about Ibrahim being compared to his father, actor Saif Ali Khan. “That will happen. Ibrahim also looks like Saif, so how will you not compare? But he proves himself even by that comparison. I think he is at par with Saif and way better than Saif’s performance in his debut films,” he said. Vikram even went on to declare, “I can give you in writing that Ibrahim will be a big star.”

Nadaaniyan is directed by Shauna Gautam in her directorial debut. The film is bankrolled by Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment and also stars Mahima Chaudhry, Dia Mirza, Suniel Shetty, and Jugal Hansraj in key roles.

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