Another Movie Guide

I Was Longing to Work With Priyadashan – Irrfan Khan

Irrfan Khan, who just won the Actors Guild Award for Slumdog Millionaire together with the other cast and could also celebrate 8 Oscars for that movie, came down to London on Friday together with Shah Rukh Khan and Lara Dutta to promote his latest release ‘Billu’.

The author met him at a press junket held by the distributor Eros International in central London, where he was explaining why he is not treading the paths, which are already there but is going his own way and what was tricky about playing the ordinary simple guy Billu Bilas Pardesi.

Q: How do you feel after the release of Billu?

Irrfan: I’m really excited. I’ve been in this industry for a long time; I’ve been doing all kind of stuff. I’m supposed to be not the regular guy for the film, so they considered me because you know I’m not Bollywood kind of actor, but I need to make my space, I’m doing it since many years and am doing all kind of interesting films… Haasil… if you catch hold of the DVD of Haasil this one has a mind-blowing story… there is Maqbool in which I played the role of MacBeth… The Warrior… The Warrior is not an Indian film it’s an English film.

So I’m being around doing all kind of stuff…to creating my own space because I’m not treading the paths, which are already there. I’m trying to take my own path and that takes time.

For me this film is a combination of many things; it is supported by a big production house; it has Shah Rukh Khan as star it guaranties kind of commercial. They are giving me a role, which I would have loved to play, which is very interesting role and in a sense it’s a tricky role. Through the whole film you should not let the audience gauge what kind of person he is. Whether he is telling lies, is he honest? Is he rascal? Is he playing games? You actually have to keep them going and still have to make him likable. You should find him nice like ‘this is a nice guy but is he true’? So that’s a very interesting premise.

And then the team! Priyadashan! I was longing to work with Priyadashan for a long time. I used to check my messages ‘no message from Priyadashan’. So suddenly out of the blue I was at a function, which was held for ‘The Namesake’ when I got a call, but there was no number. So I didn’t pick up. Then again came a call, but I didn’t pick up. So I went to Mira (Nair) and asked ‘did you call me’? And she said ‘Shah Rukh Khan was trying to get in touch with you because he has a story’ she said ‘Shah Rukh Khan was trying to call you’ then I connected those two calls.

So when I met him he is a fantastic man. He is a person with whom one feels easy, he is not carrying his baggage of being a superstar and he is a superstar. He is realistic about it, being the superstar and the person he can distance that stardom and can see it from a distance, which is a great work.

He gave all the leave, the way he worked the film, the way he positioned the film and the way he and his own status…he reduced his space in the film and had given us the space. So I was really fortunate that the director, producer, all the actors worked towards the story. Almost what in Bollywood happens is there are projects, they don’t care about the story, so everyone tries to… you know one-upmanship that it becomes a very non-enjoyable experience. So this was fantastic I was fortunately part of this film.

Q: Did you prepare yourself somehow for playing the character of Billu? Did you learn haircutting or live in a village for some time?

Irrfan: To begin with Billu being a barber is incidental it is a story of a common man. He could have been anybody so the profession is not really necessary; the film was not dealing with it. The film is based on some story and I asked Priyadashan should I see that earlier film? He knows what kind of actor I am, that I’ve done those international films and he was afraid I would come with some preparation. So he told me ‘please don’t prepare, please do no preconceived things, please come on the set keep it a clean slate and then I’ll guide you’.

I could respect him because I’ve seen his films and I trust him as a storyteller. If he would not have been that kind of director then I would have felt concerned.

For the screenplay it was necessary for me to behave as a peculiar mind. Because his behaviour matters a lot, that’s why I was completely resilient on the director. It also gives you the chance to break your own mold. That’s sometimes you break your own take on the role, you break of your own preparation so that it becomes you. So that’s when the director tells you ‘no go this way’ so this gives you the chance to break your own mold. That’s sometimes fun, like Mira Nair she sometimes asks you ‘I want this’ and it challenges you, like in ‘The Namesake’ I never wanted to do this accent, but she insisted. For 10 days I just moved on and she said ‘just do it’ so this just challenge you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

“Billu Barber” is out now in cinemas worldwide.

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