Ishaan Khatter spoke about his mother Neelima Azeem’s incredible sacrifices in a recent interview, revealing how she single-handedly raised him and Shahid Kapoor while putting aside her dreams as a dancer. Despite being a very passionate artist, Neelima always chose motherhood first, and Ishaan credits her for shaping the person he is today.
Neelima Azeem raised Shahid Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter on her own, even though the brothers are 15 years old. She gave up her dreams of dancing and acting to earn money and take care of her children. Ishaan recently spoke about this in an interview, where he shared how his mother always puts her children before her dreams.
Ishaan Khatter recalls Neelima Azeem’s journey as a dancer
Speaking to Lilly Singh, Ishaan said that his mother started dancing professionally at the age of nine, and was taught by the great Pandit Birju Maharaj. She was so talented that at the age of 14, her picture appeared on a postage stamp, which was a big deal. Ishaan also said that as he grew up, he saw his mother playing the role of his mother and father while handling everything else herself. “In many ways, I saw my mother doubly so throughout my childhood.
I also grew up with a brother who was 15 years older than me, so he was, in many ways, a parental figure. It’s a very interesting relationship again, where we’re more like friends than brothers, but there will always be a line of respect. “He changed my diapers, and every argument ends with him saying, ‘I’m bigger than you.’”
Ishaan Khatter on Neelima Azeem as a mother
She gave birth to Neelima Shahid when she was 21 years old from her first husband
Pankaj Kapoor
She gave birth to Ishaan when she was 36 years old from her second husband, Rajesh Khatter.
Ishaan spoke about what it felt like to be a mother and said, “Just watching my mother navigate every stage of her life, trying to do her best and also be a very free-spirited mother where…she had me when she was about 36, and she had my brother when she was 21-22, so they were like friends. She had me a little later, but she maintained that liveliness and friendship with me where I felt like I could share anything with her and I didn’t have to hesitate.”
I believe this has shaped the person I have become in many ways. “I’m glad I had a father I didn’t have to hide from or lie to.”
Ishaan Khatter talks about Neelima Azeem’s sacrifices
Ishaan also touched on the many sacrifices his mother made for her children, saying, “Anything worth it requires sacrifice, but the way working women and mothers also give those parts of themselves away, it’s like you have to be a superwoman. And I’ve seen her make those choices.
Whether it’s a job that gives you more consistent pay but isn’t what you see yourself doing, or excites you creatively. Or take this job just so you can run the house and have that security.
She did this for the better part of her childhood, and I saw it.
Neelima Azeem always puts motherhood before her artistic dreams
He added that although her identity as an artist is of great importance to her, she always puts motherhood first. “The artist in her is a big part of her, and she put that second to her mother a lot of times, and I saw that,” he said.
More about Ishaan Khatter’s work
On the cinematic front, Ishaan Khatter recently starred in the beloved film “Homebound” (which served as India’s official entry for the 2026 Oscars), and recently began shooting for his next theatrical film, a crime thriller titled “Jugaadu” directed by
Palash Vaswani
. Khater will also reprise his role in the second season of The Royals.
