‘True faith isn’t so fragile, it’s only the superficial that gets frightened easily’
“THE QUEST IS TO TRY AND BREAK ALL THIS CONDITIONING, GO OUT AND SEEK YOUR OWN TRUTH”
Most recently, he was the aggrieved aam aadmi in Madaari; Irrfan Khan, 49, the actor, effortlessly shuttles between big Hollywood projects (Jurassic World) and Indian mainstream films; the pragmatist in him has also spoken out on the misinterpretation of rituals like qurbani (sacrifice), even taking on the clerics while arguing his case; stars next alongside Tom Hanks in Inferno and in Anup Singh’s indie, The Song of Scorpions
Everyone is born a free spirit. But soon you get conditioned, first by your parents, then school and later society. They try to box you in, force you to perceive and judge things in certain ways. This leads to the forming of our complexes, insecurities, fears, aspirations and dreams. Eventually, you’re constantly operating through these filters, till you realise at some point that you have been on auto mode all your life. It forever diminishes our purpose here, to experiment, explore and find our own truth. Because a preconceived truth is just being handed down by society to you. The quest is to try and break all this conditioning, seek your own truth. It’s a constant journey, seeking freedom to understand the truth.
Society doesn’t exist without the individual. If the individual isn’t evolved, then neither is society. But there is a strange dichotomy here. Society is made to streamline people, show them the right path. But it starts working in the opposite manner. It controls you. It doesn’t invite an evolving of the mind. Society is alive only when the individual is asking questions. And if society has reformists within it, it will invite questions. The problem is the people hungry for power, they don’t want questions to be asked. The need for questioning exists within everybody, it’s just that sometimes people feel it’s easier to suppress it. At times, people are made to feel afraid of this nature too.
In my childhood, I used to eagerly wait for prayer time. I prayed with a pure love for God, trying to get closer to him. Even then I used to wonder whether I understood what I was saying. It’s why I questioned the ritual of qurbani (sacrifice). All I said is that one should understand why the ritual was there. One should feel the pain, the loss, understand what the sacrifice was about. It wasn’t the power of my voice but the fear of their faith being challenged that brought those reactions. True faith is never so fragile. It’s only the superficial that gets frightened so easily. I discuss these issues with my family all the time. It never becomes an issue. But after my comments, my brother told me that our friends asked, “What has Bhaijaan said?” I told him to bring all of them over and we spoke. I asked, “What is wrong with what I said?” They told me, what you are saying is right but you shouldn’t have said it. But do we want to remain blind? What will we gain from it?
There is a beautiful line my character says in Life of Pi, which is now one of the mantras of my life. “Doubt is useful, it keeps faith a living thing. After all, you cannot know the strength of your faith until it is tested.”
(As told to Suhani Singh)