Ibrahim Ali Khan, who faced a barrage of criticism for his performance in the recently released Nadaaniyaan, opened up in a candid interview about his response to the backlash and his outlook on a future in films. When asked if Naadaniyaan was the ideal debut, he expressed deep gratitude to producer-director Karan Johar, who not only launched him but also mentored him during his stint as an assistant director on Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
Reflecting on the film’s performance, Ibrahim acknowledged the changing dynamics of stardom. “Bad script, a bad movie worked if it had a popular star. It doesn’t work like that anymore.” he said.
Despite facing negativity, Khan shared that he’s found encouragement from within the industry, which keeps him motivated to push forward. “Saif Ali Khan is my father, Sara Ali Khan is my sister and Sharmila Tagore is my grandmother. Amrita Singh is my mother… Sometimes, I feel like my take is not relevant…Because we come from all of this, we’ll get the platform easily. But from there, you have to take it forward. I get this debate. I get it. But hey, it’s not my fault that I’m Saif’s son. I’m looking to just work hard and be the best version of me that I can be. Just because I’m this kid, I’m not gonna run away somewhere. I’m not gonna hide. I am this kid and I am here and I want to do well. But as I said, I get it. We have the platform. So what we can do is be grateful to have that platform and stay true to who we are and work harder and be better.”
Addressing the claims made by some critics about him being better than his father in his debut film, Ibrahim dismissed it as being unfair “Obviously not. I keep seeing a reel on social media where they’re comparing us. It’s me from my first film and they’re comparing it to Saif Ali Khan from Hum Tum. He won the National Award in that movie. You can’t compare that to that. They’re expecting me to be like him in Hum Tum in my first film! You know what? Even I wanted to be like that in my first film. That’s the bar I should raise for myself. But if it’s not gonna happen, then that’s okay. You can’t just compare me to like my dad in his peak prime. I don’t think it’s his good looks that made him the superstar that he is. I think it’s the roles he’s played. He is a phenomenal actor. Surely I must have inherited a bit of that from him. I can’t wait to just work harder and do some great work and share that with the world because I know I have it in me.”
He also reflected on his very first experience in front of the camera while working on Sarzameen, an unreleased project that stars Kajol and Prithviraj Sukumaran. “My first day was nerve-wracking. Everything was difficult. From the way I was cueing, to saying my lines, to how I had to look, where I had to look, everything. But that’s how we all start. But because I worked as an assistant director for two years, I actually knew quite a lot about making movies. You can’t go in front of the camera and say, okay, I know what to do. Because when that camera turns on and there are 200 people around you and you hear ‘Roll camera, Action!’ then it’s just you and that moment. What happens in the moment, you yourself don’t know. And when these people say, ‘wow, what a good shot,’ I have no idea how I did it. That’s what I want to do. I want to give it a shot and be like, ‘Wow, man, how did I do that?’ That hasn’t happened yet. It’s not like I’ve given some banging shots anywhere. But that’s the goal.”
