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Throwback: Irrfan Khan’s career retrospection was about self discovery: Acting allows you to explore yourself
In a 2017 throwback interview with Pinkvilla, Irrfan Khan had spoken candidly about his acting career which has been a means of self-discovery, how the audience is looking for more diverse content in Bollywood and how he chose his Hollywood scripts.
On a hot summer day in 2017, I was given the prime opportunity to meet the eccentric personality that was Mr. Irrfan Khan. Before 2017, Irrfan has already become a popular name, not just in Bollywood but Hollywood as well. When 2017 came about, we saw a certain 'slice of life' shift in the performer's roles as he gave us two hits, Hindi Medium and Qarib Qarib Singlle. They were roles drastically different from what we are used to seeing from the star, but its box-office success was proof that content was what the audience craved for!
As a nervous rookie reporter, there were the usual questions about Qarib Qarib Singlle, which was a few weeks away from its release. But, when given the opportunity to speak to such a multifaceted gentleman like Irrfan, you seize it with the limited time you get. When it comes to his illustrious career, Irrfan was extremely blunt about his journey so far. "I don't look at my journey in numbers. I don't feel the need to describe it. It's been an enriching experience for me for sure. I'd love to be an actor again. It's a self-discovery, which is more important to me. Acting, the profession, does allow you to explore yourself and the society around you, the people around you. That's been a blessing for me," the actor had confidently said.
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2017 was also the year where content proved to be a true king, even at the box-office! On this, Irrfan had pondered, "Content is becoming more and more important. Those masala movies are not going anywhere but people also want more diversity in entertainment. The audience is almost pushing the industry to bring more content. That's why films like Hindi Medium, Lipstick Under My Burkha and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan are working. This indication of how they need more content has been said from the past few years. Even Pink came out of the blue! The audience is saying, 'Give us content!'"
A romantic at heart, Irrfan's softer side was shown when I asked him about starring in romantic films. "You are more excited when you do romantic scenes. It's not just about what you think. It's more about what you are feeling for someone. Your heart is always charged in romantic movies. When you are not dealing with romance sometimes, you explore how you are thinking and what you are doing. But, in romantic films, your heart should always be throbbing," Khan shared honestly.
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Speaking of romance, Irrfan had always been privy about his family life and when I couldn't help but ask the actor about his love story with wife Sutapa, the star simply stated with a fond smile, "We were studying together. It wasn't like two strangers meeting. We just had a different kind of chemistry."
By 2017, Irrfan had also made quite a name in Hollywood by starring in films like Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and Jurassic World. When it came to choosing his scripts when it came to Hollywood projects, Khan had explained, "It keeps changing. Earlier, I was doing big studio, franchise movies. Now, I wanted to work on an intimate, personal film which is why I chose Puzzle (2018), a love story. I hadn't done a love story in Hollywood before so this was the first time. So, it keeps changing. It's not just one thing that you always want. You do one thing, then you want to do some other thing."
Looking back at that interview, hearing Irrfan's voice again left an inimitable mark in this reporter, who was fortunate to interact with the legend before his demise, at least once in her lifetime.
"Robin Williams, what a concept," were Billy Crystal's concluding words in his Emmys 2014 tribute speech to his best friend and legendary comedian. The same could be said for Irrfan Khan.
Irrfan Khan, what a concept.
