Neelima Azeem raised both Shahid Kapoor and: Ishaan Khatter alone, even though the gap between the two brothers is 15 years. 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, sharing how his mother always put her children before her own dreams.
Ishaan Khatter recalls Neelima Azeem’s journey as a dancer
Speaking to Lilly Singh, Ishaan shared that his mother started dancing professionally at the age of 9, learning under the great Pandit Birju Maharaj. He was so talented that at the age of 14, his photo appeared on a stamp, which was a big deal. Ishaan also said that growing up, he saw his mother playing the role of his mom and dad while he was in charge of everything. “In many ways, I see my mother as my childhood double. I also grew up with an older brother who was 15 years older than me, so he was, in many ways, a parental figure. It was a very interesting relationship again, where we were more friends than brothers, but there was always a line of respect. He changed my diapers, so every argument ended with, ‘I’m older than you,'” she said.
Ishaan Khatter for having Neelima Azeem as a mother
Neelima had Shahid when she was 21 with her first husband Pankaj Kapurand had Ishaan when she was 36 with her second husband Rajesh Khatter. Ishaan talked about what it’s like to be a mother and said, “Just watching mom navigate every stage of her life, trying to do her best and also being a very liberal kind of parent where… I had her when she was about 36 years old, she had my brother when she was 21-22, so they were just friends. And that I think has contributed to the person I’ve become in many ways. I’m just glad I have parents that I don’t have to hide or lie to.”
Ishaan Khatter opens up about Neelima Azeem’s sacrifices
Ishaan also talked about the many sacrifices his mother made for her children, saying, “Anything worth it requires sacrifice but the way women who are working parents also give parts of themselves, like you have to be a superwoman. And I see her making those choices. Whether it’s getting a job that offers a steady paycheck but isn’t what you see yourself doing, or creatively inspires you. Or take that job just to manage the house and have that security. He did that for the better part of childhood, and you saw that.”
Neelima Azeem has always put motherhood before her artistic dreams
She added that even though her identity as an artist is very important to her, she always prioritizes motherhood. “The artist in her is a big part of who she is, and she always puts her mother second, and I see that,” she said.
What do you think is the most important sacrifice a parent makes for their children?
More on Ishaan Khatter’s work:
On the film front, Ishaan Khatter recently starred in the critical darling ‘Homebound’ (which serves as India’s official entry for the 2026 Academy Awards), and he has just started shooting for his next theatrical outing, a crime-thriller titled ‘Jugaadu’ directed by Palash Vaswani. Khatter also reprized his role in ‘The Royals’ Season 2.