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Kangana Ranaut on Irrfan Khan: He was a sucker for life, loved poetry, ghazals; the illness couldn't deter him
While the nation is reeling with the shock of Irrfan Khan's demise, good friend Kangana Ranaut reminisces fond memories with the late actor and gives us an insight of the lesser known side of the actor - how he was as a human being!
Bollywood has faced a tremendous loss today - one that can never be compensated in any way. Irrfan Khan breathed his last today, after battling for months with cancer. The actor, who was rushed to the hospital yesterday following a colon infection, passed away this morning. He was 53.
Several industry friends have voiced their compassion towards the actor, who clearly had the most goodwill in the fraternity. While Bollywood is mourning the loss of a terrific actor, there are also few close friends who are shaken with the news of his untimely death. Kangana Ranaut shared a fond relationship with Irrfan and has also acted in two films with him - Life...in a Metro and Knockout. Speaking about how she bonded with him, she reveals, "We were very close friends. When I was doing Revolver Rani, we were part of the same circle because of Tigmanshu (Dhulia) sir and Sai Kabir. We all used to jam together. When we worked together in Knockout, we didn't strike a bond then. But later, we were planning to do a film together which was an Indo-French production called Divine Lovers and we were romantically paired opposite each other. That was the time when I got to spend a lot of time with him. Unfortunately, that film got shelved although I know Irrfan ji tried reviving that film later as well."
Ask her how she reacted to the news of him passing away and the Panga actress tells us, "The news has been extremely unsettling for everyone. He was such a charming, happy person that everyone loved him. It was very difficult not to like him. Even after the news of his health came about in the last two years, when he returned to films, everyone of us had high hopes about his recovery. My first Anurag Basu too has been through a situation where he's recovered. Irrfan Khan was one person who started off as a character artist and went on to become a big Hollywood star. In true sense, if there's someone who's had a breakthrough in Hollywood mainstream, it's him and it's purely because of his talent. The fact that he became an international star and rose from where he was, his goodwill made sure everyone around him was happy and proud of what he had achieved. Nobody ever had any feeling of jealousy with Irrfan sir and that's beautiful. Nothing will ever complete this void and we are all shaken, but he has lived a good life."
While many could only witness and know him because of his on-screen persona and incredible acting prowess, Kangana was one of those few who knew Irrfan Khan, the human being. "He was a very colourful, happy positive person," she says reminiscing times spent with him. "He loved poetry, ghazals and was an extremely liberal person at heart. He wasn't judgmental at all and was an absolute delight to spend time with. His parties would be different. It was never the usual Bollywood techno ones with loud music. He would call these budding poets and writers and there would be a poetry session. Six-seven of us would often chill at Sai Kabir's apartment. He was such a charming man, his sense of humour was terrific. He was a sucker for life and wanted to live every moment of his life to the fullest. And he did," she further added.
Remembering some fond memories with the late actor, Kangana reveals how they, as friends, would often pull Irrfan's leg. "When we used to meet, we would rarely speak about work or films. He never took his talent, stardom and his craft seriously. While he was doing Ang Lee's film, he had also rejected Christopher Nolan's film. We used to tease him about saying no to Nolan, but it didn't have any effect on him. In fact, he was an extremely cool person. He would start making his own cigarette - he never bought the tobacco ones available - and start pretending like he didn't listen to what we were saying. He was so genuine that he didn't pretend to penetrate into a certain circle. He didn't have time for any industry bullshit, right from day one. Irrfan sir was above all that."
The Angrezi Medium star was also a great connoisseur of art. "Irrfan Khan had a great knack towards art and interiors," the Queen tells us sharing how he had helped her when she bought her own house in Manali. "I loved how he had done up his whole house and his bungalow at Madh Island. He introduced me to Shabnam, his interior designer, who also has done up my Manali house. He had a very sophisticated taste and had helped me out with it."
While Knockout and Metro didn't have both of them playing lovers, and their Indo-French project failed to take off, she reveals she had offered Irrfan the role of her husband in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. "I had actually wanted Irrfan Khan to play Gangadhar Rao in the film. I remember narrating the film to him because Gangadhar Rao was an artist and had the biggest library in Asia. He always wanted to do a romantic film with me where we would play lovers. So I was very keen to have Irrfan sir but back then, it couldn't work out. I wish we could have done a film together," she sighs.
But did she meet him anytime, after he was diagnosed with neuro-endocrine cancer? "When we were shooting for Judgementall Hai Kya in London, and he was also there for his treatment, we had met. But like I said, he seemed very unaffected by everything. And always philosophical. Then, whenever I would try finding out about his health, he would just respond and send me red circles. He wouldn't respond in proper words. He was a very layered person in a good way. He also didn't take his illness too seriously and never let that deter his energy. He would never have a conversation about the pain he was going through" she signed off.
But it's true that India and Bollywood will miss the presence and enigma that Irrfan Khan was. Today, we lost a legend. Our condolences to his entire family.
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