Ibrahim Ali Khan faced harsh criticism for his acting debut in Nadaaniyan, released in March 2025. A month later, Saif Ali Khan’s son addressed whether the film was a “perfect” debut.
In a recent interview, Ibrahim discussed Nadaaniyan, noting the challenges of becoming a star today. He thanked Karan Johar for providing him a platform, but acknowledged that icons like Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan are now rare. He pointed out that changing audience views on theaters play a role in this shift. Describing himself as a “nobody,” Ibrahim emphasized his desire to focus on doing “good work.”
“I worked with KJo sir (Karan Johar) on Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. I love him and I respect him so much. He has given me such a good platform. He believed in me when no one else did. He’s kind of been my guide in this industry. And a great guide as well. Yes, I did want a commercial, grand, theatre mein seeti marne wala launch. But nowadays, maybe theatres are not the way they used to be,” he told Filmfare.
“In 2025, the director and the script are the kings. I genuinely believe that we won’t get stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan again. That era of actors is gone. It just doesn’t work how it used to work in the ’80s and in the ’90s, when these guys would just stand in front of the camera and the movies would be a hit. People would go crazy over these stars,” the star kid continued.
“Nowadays, it’s hard to do that. No one can be a star like that. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’m a star. I’m nobody. My work needs to speak for me. I like the concept of being an actor and doing good work, which in 2025 is key. Bad script, a bad movie worked if it had a popular star. It doesn’t work like that anymore,” Ibrahim concluded.
Later, Ibrahim was asked if it was ‘necessary’ to take on the Pakistani journalist who criticised Nadaaniyan. He said, “I know I shouldn’t have reacted but I’m also new to public scrutiny. When he made that personal comment about my body, it felt like a below-the-belt remark. But going forward, I’ll be more composed. I shouldn’t have reacted. It won’t happen again.”
In the same chat, Ibrahim also said that people had ‘high expectations’ of his debut film instead of the ‘sweet, breezy rom-com’ he delivered. “Social media is a hateful world, right now. They tried to twist it a lot. Sure, as a lead actor, I have to bring in loads more than what I did. I know I can bring it and I am confident that I will bring it in my future projects. But I’m happy with what it was,” he said, defending the film.
In addition to Ibrahim Ali Khan, Nadaaniyan featured Khushi Kapoor as a lead. The movie was helmed by director Shauna Gautam.
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