‘I AM NOT SCARED OF ANYBODY’

Irrfan Khan recently got embroiled in several controversies for his outspoken remarks but that’s not going to stop him from speaking his mind out, says the actor

Irrfan Khan is someone who never minces his words. The 49-year-old actor’s views on the Islamic tradition of qurbani (slaughtering of animals) and fasting during Ramzan recently became a hot topic for discussion across social media platforms. His statements resulted in a strong backlash against him, but Irrfan says there’s nothing that can stop him from speaking his mind.

“I am not scared of anybody,” is his reply when asked if he’ll watch his words henceforth to avoid getting embroiled in controversies. Recently, he had also bantered: “Kya Salman ka rape hua? (Was Salman raped?),” stirring a fresh controversy, when an interviewer asked him for his take on actor Salman Khan’s ‘raped woman’ remark.

But public opinion on his statements doesn’t bother Irrfan. If he is scared of something, it’s ‘getting misinterpreted’. “Not everything I say gets picked up. People are always very selective about what they want to hear. Public opinions can be used to create powerful thoughts, but when people start misinterpreting words, things gets analysed for all the wrong reasons. I get very sad and skeptical about such things,” he says.

The actor, whose film Madaari released recently, says that although he can’t stop himself from sharing his thoughts publicly, it’s a wise idea to be cautious when one is on a public platform. “Anyone has the freedom to interpret whatever you say, and in whatever manner. You cannot blame people for thinking that way. So, one has to be careful and think about the context before talking. That’s only how one should speak. That’s how I work,” he says.

Not everything that I say gets picked up. People are always very selective about what they want to hear IRRFAN KHAN, ACTOR

PHOTO: SHIVAM SAXENA/HT