Irrfan Khan: An Intense & Profound Chat

Irrfan Khan has an uncanny talent of making on-screen characters come alive. With his spectrum of expressions, he makes them live their life, erasing his real self in the process

- Vinay Agrawal

It’s early morning. The air has a quality of chill to it, very uncharacteristic of Mumbai. The streets though are bustling with activity. In an hour or so, the roads will be jammed to the tune of three dots. But for now, they are relatively empty. As we ride further, the traffic thins out even more, till we realise our sole presence on the empty road at that hour. At our destination (Madh), we are greeted enthusiastically by a cold breeze. The air here too feels different from the rest of Mumbai. It smells of flora. And, fauna. And life, in general. There is a sense of peace and tranquility—a yogic calmness around. A flock of egrets flutters by, making a sound, before perching on the branch of a tree. I pinch myself, to believe that they are indeed birds and not some airbus. We are in this scenic location to meet Irrfan Khan. This is where he lives, to be far away from the madding crowd. And, as if to shake me out of my reverie, the actor, who has just made an appearance, looking dapper and fresh, offers, “Bombay has its good and bad sides. The city has infrastructure problems. It takes so much of time to reach from one point to another, which becomes very stressful. Though, the good part is, everybody here has come to work, and there is a kind of a movement in the city, a ‘spirit’, to cope with anything, and in between all this, it (city) always finds ways to celebrate.”