Remembering Irrfan: A rare soul and artiste
A year since the Padma Shri recipient and National Award winning actor passed away, filmmakers talk about the Irrfan they met, loved and lost
Tanuja Chandra
Irrfan really enjoyed telling and listening to stories and the craft of creating characters. He absorbed life around him, and brought these observations to his performances. As an actor, I liked the gentle way in which he traversed that mysterious zone between comic and tragic. It’s very easy to make a performance one-dimensional, but he merged these genres. I loved how he did this in my film, Qarib Qarib Single (2017).
Priyadarshan
Unfortunately, we worked on just one film, Billu (2009). His simplicity blew me. He was so true to his job, which even Shah Rukh (Khan, actor) and I’d talk about. Instead of his makeup room, he’d stay back on the sets. He had such an innocent smile, and today, when I see his photos or movies, I feel sad. Some people live in your hearts forever, even if you haven’t known them for a long time.
Abhinay Deo
What I remember the most about him is that he was an amazing and spontaneous person. He managed to shock me as a director with his performance when we shot for Blackmail (2018). I met him when he returned from London after his treatment. He said the biggest problem with humans is that we take everything for granted. We should remember him happily. Such souls are rare.