Irrfan’s demise last year left a deep void in everyone’s hearts; some of them are still coming to terms with it. Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia, who directed Irrfan in The Warrior (2001), his international project shared that working with the actor was an amazing journey, along with Monsoon Shootout director Amit Kumar who was the third person on the ride.
Talking about Irrfan in an interview, Kapadia said, “That relationship with Irrfan and Amit is like this very strong triangle that kind of formed us, that we went on this amazing journey together. We all remained friends. The last time I was in Bombay, Amit and I went to see Irrfan. We have not come to terms with it. It’s also strange because I haven’t been able to travel really since all of this happened last year.”
He further said, “We must not forget Irrfan as he was not only a great actor but a wonderful spiritual being.” Amit, who also had joined Asif in the interview, also chimed in and said, “For me, he was such a warm person. It's interesting that Asif used the word spiritual to describe Irrfan because there was a certain kind of aura around him. There was more than just his physical being, you felt that there's something very special in him.”
He added that he and Asif traveled around the country for two or three months while preparing and researching for The Warrior that brought Irrfan to the notice of international media. That’s how he came up with the idea for his critically-acclaimed 2003 short film Bypass, which featured Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Amit described the coming together of Irrfan, Nawazuddin and Asif for Bypass as ‘magical alignment of destiny’, and working with the actor was a memory close to his heart. He said, “I had worked with Asif on The Warrior and I could see everything that Irrfan was doing in that. I thought, ‘I really need to try and work with him’, and then Bypass happened.”
(Source: PTI)
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