In the week leading up to the release of Ishq Vishk Rebound, Jibraan Khan barely slept at night. “I would be up at 5 am. It’s the best feeling ever because I have waited an eternity for this,” says the actor, who is joined by Rohit Saraf, Pashmina Roshan and Naila Grrewal in the YA rom-com. His excitement to see himself on the big screen is understandable, although it’s not his first time. A successful child actor, he played Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s on-screen son in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G, 2001).

“There was always something nudging me towards movies. My father is an actor, Firoz Khan [Arjun from B R Chopra’s Mahabharat]. From a young age, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I worked with the best in K3G and learnt so much.”

Being a child actor can also be a disadvantage, Khan believes, as the industry believes you’re over-exposed by the time you hit your twenties.

“In the generation before mine, [when child actors grew up], nobody gave them the opportunity they desired. I cut off from the industry at the right time. I was absent through my teens and early 20s. I didn’t have to hear, ‘Yeh child actors hai, their faces don’t change.’ Those theories are out of the window. Now, it is about how talented you are.”

He admits that landing his maiden film wasn’t easy. “I have been thrown out of movies, replaced, and rejected. I just kept my head down and moved. I’m grateful [my launch] happened now and I had a support system in Ramesh Taurani. He treated us like superstars. He took interest in newcomers and pushed us.”