Vishal Bhardwaj and Irrfan shared a special bond that went beyond the usual director-actor relationship. The filmmaker was devastated when the actor passed away and was one of the few people who attended his burial amid the lockdown. Vishal had directed Irrfan in Maqbool, 7 Khoon Maaf and Haider. He also worked with Irrfan in Talvar and Madaari which Vishal produced. In an emotional Instagram post the filmmaker said that ‘there were and there are and there will be a lot of tears to shed’.
Sharing a picture of the two of them, Vishal wrote, “Thank You sir. Thank you. There were and there are and there will be a lot of tears to shed. Thankyou for helping me bring them out. Thank you.” Vishal who has not said much about Irrfan’s untimely death on April 29 has turned to writing as an outlet for his pent up emotions. He penned a screenplay on his bond with Irrfan and shared it with a leading daily and posted the link on his Instagram as well.
When Vishal first heard of Irrfan’s death, it felt like an explosion of a bomb in his heart, he wrote. On his way to the crematorium, he reminisced about the moments they spent together. In the screenplay, he shared an anecdote from February 2014, when Haider was being shot in Srinagar. A crowd had gathered around Irrfan hoping for a selfie and the actor was whisked away by the security forces. Vishal wrote, “A boy runs out from a lane situated at the square leg direction of the car. He bends his shoulder back and throws a stone like a professional cricketer at the car to run him out. The wind screen shatters into pieces.” The filmmaker had panicked as the security guard had opened fire but was stopped by Irrfan ‘just in time’.
Vishal wrote that the actor was not least perturbed by the incident and laughed about it later. He wrote, “Vishal sahab, kya throw maara saale ne.. Aisa graceful ki Jonty Rhodes yaad aa gaya (Vishal sahab, what a throw it was.. So graceful that I was reminded of Jonty Rhodes).” Vishal also wrote about his feelings when he saw Irrfan’s mortal remains at the crematorium. He wrote, “I walk forward to face him. I am looking at his face endlessly. Time has stopped. I realize how heavy his eyelids are. A lullaby in Irrfan’s voice echoes in my head... ‘Aa ja ri nindo tu aa ja.. Ifu ki aankhon mein.. (Come dear sleep, come.. Settle into Ifu’s eyes..)’.” Apparently, Irfan had sent the song on a WhatsApp message to Vishal in August 2018, when he was undergoing treatment in London and had quipped, “Vishal sahab ab aapko acting ke saath meri singing bhi jhelni padegi (Vishal sahab, now you will have to suffer my singing along with my acting).”
Looking at Irrfanm Vishal wrote, “Tears have drenched my N95 mask as I stand still, looking at his serene calm face. I want to cry aloud. I can’t. My throat is choked.” Irrfan was supposed to start a gangster drama with Deepika Padukone that was to be directed by Vishal which now will not take off. It was put on hold because of the actor’s illness. Apparently, Irrfan had told Vishal during the look test, “Mazaak nahin kar raha hoon.. Jab tab aap 7 Khoon Maaf mein meri kahaani ka poora edit nahin daalte YouTube par.. Main shooting pe nahin aaunga (I’m not joking.. Until you put my full unedited story from 7 Khoon Maaf on YouTube.. I won’t come for the shoot).
Vishal then shared an anecdote from 2018, when he and Tabu visited Irrfan at his home. “Irrfan starts to narrate his cancer treatment tales like a script. He makes it sound so hilarious that Tabu and I fall down laughing. He mimics doctors and their strange physical habits. At this point Sutapa joins us, she scolds Irrfan to not make fun of his specialist doctor.” Then, Irrfan became philosophical and said that it felt like his health conditions were playing out like films of different genres - sometimes thriller and sometimes comedy. Vishal remembered the moment of Irrfan being buried in Haider as he saw him being buried in real life. “I wish I could edit out this scene from my life,” he emotionally concluded his screenplay.
(Source: Instagram/Times of India)
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