Irrfan Khan was an actor par excellence. He was a performer that shone and stunned in every possible medium. It was his restrain and minimalism that stole the spotlight in every character that he essayed. He used his eyes to convey his emotions with effortless ease. His passing away on April 29, 2020 left a void in Hindi cinema that can never be filled.
The actor who has worked across some of the best Indian directors was also supposed to star in Border 2 director Anurag Singh’s film, a collaboration that could have been both crucial and memorable, however couldn’t happen at that time.
The filmmaker recalled the time when pitched an idea to Khan and Tabu was supposed to be the lady opposite him. In a recent interview, Anurag revealed, “It was one of the first Hindi films that I had signed. This was 2015 or 2016. When Punjab 1984 released, at the same time, Ek Villain had released. That film was from Balaji and was a huge success. They made a lovely film and the music was also a hit. But in Punjab, their business was affected, because Punjab 1984 had also released. So Ekta wanted to know who this filmmaker was because of whom her film got affected in Punjab. The business could have been more. Her people reached out to me, because maybe we could have done something together. We met and discussed a few ideas. There was this mature love story, an idea that I had which she loved.”
He further revealed, “I wrote the script of this cute, little film. We met Irrfan sir and he also loved it. I think his words were ‘Story achchi hai and I like your honesty. I’ll do the film.’ I guess what he meant was I was not filmy. He wanted to do that film but for several reasons, financially things were not moving forward. I met Tabu maam as well. But it didn’t work out and kept on getting delayed. And by then I got the offer to do Kesari. I told Ekta I was going ahead. Meeting Irrfan Khan was a lovely experience. The script is still with Balaji.”
Given Anurag Singh’s understanding of gravitas and human emotions, this could have been a love story for the ages. And Irrfan Khan and Tabu, the lethal celluloid duo that always blazed the screen with their fiery persona and performances, could have added magic to the filmmaker’s vision.
