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Irrfan?s chasing a deadline
The actor speaks to Hiren Kotwani about his forthcoming films, Deadline-Sirf 24 Ghante and A Mighty Heart.
Irrfan Khan is the star of the evening at the press meet of Percept Picture Company’s presentation, Deadline - Sirf 24 Ghante. The actor, who has been shooting in Pune for A Mighy Heart with Angelina Jolie, is in town for the weekend to promote the film, which releases this Friday.
Bagging international films like The Warrior, Shadows Of Time, The Namesake, Partition and now A Mighty Heart must have upped his ante in the industry resulting in better roles and films.
“I haven’t ever marketed myself, except longed for good work,” he said, adding, “Whatever work you do, it shows. I met the makers of all these films and heard the scripts. I liked them, the characters, understood the directors’ visions and agreed to do them.”
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| Konkana Sen Sharma and Irrfan Khan in a still from the film Deadline- Sirf 24 Ghante |
Khan said he was in Hyderabad when he got a call for A Mighty Heart, asking for his photographs. “Infact I had asked my wife to mail them,” he shared. Since he’s bound by contract not to talk about the film, one continued with questions on his experience of working with Jolie and his interaction with Brad Pitt. “They’re very friendly, we did get along well from the start. The rest you will know when you see the film,” is all he said, so we moved on to Deadline, where he plays a writer.
“What attracted me to this character is the range of emotions and reactions he can evoke; from terrifying you to moving you to tears.” Aware that director Tanveer Khan’s Madhoshi starring John Abraham and Bipasha Basu didn’t set the box-office afire, the actor said: “One does consider the director’s past work, but one also sees what he has now. I thought he will make it very passionately and, having worked with him and seen the film, I can say he has.”
Mention Mira Nair’s The Namesake, which recently premiered in New York and he got excited. “I heard it has been very well received by the audience who gave a 20minute standing ovation to the film.” Apart from working with Nair after a long time, Khan is also excited about the character he plays in her adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel.
“What’s fascinating about this role is that it’s subtle, which is why it’s more challenging to convey a lot without doing anything or as little as possible.” And is he disap pointed when films like The Warrior do not reach audiences here? “Definitely. I would have liked The Warrior to be released here. Partition is another film I’m hoping will re lease properly.”
He will also be seen in Anurag Basu’s Metro, Venod Mitra’s Meridian and a film with Abhinav Kas hyap, currently being scripted.
Hiren.kotwani@hindustantimes.com
