Rajesh Khattar says he’d never ask son Ishaan Khatter, stepson Shahid Kapoor for career assistance; reveals he isn’t friends with Pankaj Kapur

Rajesh Khattar said that he has met Pankaj Kapur only a handful of times in his entire life, but that they've been respectful towards each other.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | June 1, 2023 06:26 PM IST

2 min read

Ishaan Khatter with his father Rajesh Khattar. (Photo: Rajesh Khattar/Instagram)

Listen to this article

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Rajesh Khattar said that he has never asked his son Ishaan Khatter or his stepson Shahid Kapoor to connect him with film producers in an effort to get work. He said that he is satisfied with the level of success he has achieved in his career, and has other business interests besides acting. He was married to Neliima Azeem, with whom he had Ishaan in 1995. During this time, Neliima’s son elder son Shahid, from her marriage with Pankaj Kapur, also lived with them. But Rajesh and Neliima split in 2001.

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, the actor was asked if he has ever requested either Shahid or Ishaan to introduce him to filmmakers he wants to work with. “No, never,” he said. “Ishaan and I came close to working together once, on an international project. But it wasn’t because either of us tried to make it happen. That was the doing of the director. Everything happens for a reason, so maybe we’re destined to work on something better.”

Also read | Rajesh Khatter admits stepson Shahid Kapoor has never met his son Yuvaan: ‘The kids will have to work it out’

But even though that opportunity slipped through their fingers, Rajesh said that he’d never ask Ishaan or Shahid to introduce him to producers. “It’s not about ego,” he said. He maintained that he has a good relationship with Ishaan, and that Ishaan knows he’s always just a call away. He did, however, admit that he doesn’t have much of a relationship with Shahid’s father, Pankaj Kapur. “We aren’t friends, it’s a formal relationship. I must have met him hardly four or five times. But very cordial, very nice, very respectful towards each other,” he said, adding that Neliima is ‘good friends’ with his current wife Vandana.

In the same interview, Rajesh was also asked why Ishaan doesn’t mention him as often as he mentions his mother and half-brother in interviews, and he said that the media’s impression of their relationship doesn’t matter to him. But he also admitted that Shahid hasn’t ever met his youngest son, Yuvaan, who was born in 2019.

From the homepage