Long before Mammootty, Irrfan was the first A-lister from Indian cinema who happily played a gay character in a short film directed by Mira Nair. Mira and Irrfan Khan shared a terrific rapport. They collaborated on several films, including the magnificent The Namesake. But there was one role in a short film directed by Mira Nair which stood out. It was a film called Migration on AIDS, and it was the role of a gay man. This was in 2013. Indian actors were reluctant to play gay characters. They still are. Mira Nair first offered the role to Randeep Hooda, who chickened out.
Irrfan Khan's Role In Migration
Irrfan was initially offered another role in Migration. Just like Mammootty, Irrfan played an unhappily married man in a secret, anguished affair with a man in the film. Incidentally, Irrfan’s last role was supposed to be that of a crossdresser in Anup Singh’s next.
Recalling their conversations, Anup said, “After Qissa and The Song of Scorpions, Irrfan often used to tease me, saying, ‘You’re always casting me, but your films really are all about women. When will you do a film with a man as the main protagonist in your film and cast me?’ So, I spoke to him about the new film I wanted to do with him. I said, ‘Irrfan, this is a film about a man, but the thing is, he likes to dress up as a woman. In fact, he’s a folk dancer who dresses and dances like Krishna’s Radha.”
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Irrfan’s Reaction To Unusual Offer
Irrfan, who famously disliked dancing, burst into laughter when he heard the idea. Anup laughs, “Irrfan laughed so much, he had tears in his eyes. You know how he hated to dance!”
“He said to me, You always bring me characters to do that I don’t want to and that I know I have to do. And now you not only want me to play Radha, but also to dance! I have to do this! When do we start? Alas, that was never to be.”
Anup also spoke about Irrfan as an actor. “I believe as an actor he comes to a role in the same way that a refugee comes to a new country. Just like a refugee, Irrfan seeks to understand the complexities of the new circumstances and his relationship with it and his own growth within the new space. That is what makes him the immensely innovative actor that he was,” he added.
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“For instance, let me tell you about how he learned for himself to speak the Punjabi dialogue of Qissa and developed his approach to the character of Umber Singh. At one point, Irrfan stopped learning the lines by rote. He began to hum for himself the feeling of the scene. He would hum a phrase and then another, seeking the inner, hidden emotion of the character at that moment. And then, slowly, he would allow the words to emerge within the music of the moment he had created for himself. His quest remained to find the lilt and the rhythm of the language, and then the words would rise spontaneously, and be authentic within the scene.”
About Irrfan Khan
Today marks the sixth death anniversary of Irrfan Khan, who breathed his last on April 29, 2020, at the age of 53. While his cause of death was a colon infection, he spent his final years bravely battling a rare neuroendocrine tumour diagnosed in 2018.
His last film was Hindi Medium, which premiered shortly after his death.