Irrfan Khan was one of the most talented and versatile actors of the movie industry who will be remembered for their humbleness and down-to-Earth attitude. In fact, it has been difficult for many to believe that he is not with us now and one of them is filmmaker Shoojit Sircar with whom Irrfan worked in “Piku”.
Lately Shoojit who is making “Sardar Udham Singh” disclosed that his first choice for the lead character in the biopic was late Irrfan Khan. He even approached the “Madaari” star initially; nevertheless on account of health issues, it could not be possible as Irrfan was suffering from neuroendocrine tumour.
The filmmaker was also ready to wait for Irrfan; however, the latter was not in the condition to take up the venture as his health didn’t permit him so he asked Shoojit Sircar to move forward without him and it was then that Vicky Kaushal was roped in for the role.
According to Shoojit Sircar, he had the image of Irrfan Khan in mind while writing the character in the biopic. He even told Mid-Day once that Irrfan had the depth and grace required for portraying Udham Singh on the screen and besides this, he also knows Punjab’s history. In a media interaction, the movie’s producer Ronnie Lahiri said that Irrfan was not in a physical condition of playing this complex character and he didn’t want someone else to make a movie on Sardar Udham Singh so they obeyed his wish and signed Vicky Kaushal for the flick.
Shoojit Sircar was very close to Irrfan Khan ever since they worked in “Piku” and he was not able to control his emotions or believe when the “Hindi Medium” actor departed from this world. He says that he cannot stop thinking about Irrfan and his face keeps on floating in his eyes. In the actor’s last 10 days, he was constantly in touch with Irrfan’s wife Sutapa and son Babil for his health updates. He further says that he never got over his loss as he still feels that Irrfan is with him and interacting with him.
Let’s see whether the “Raazi” actor will be able to justify the role or not!