Vishal Bhardwaj is all set to bring another film, Khufiya, with Tabu, Ali Fazal and Wamiqa Gabbi in the lead, a suspense thriller, all set to release on October 5. In one of the recent interviews, the filmmaker went on to talk about his bond with the late actor Irrfan Khan and went on to reveal that both didn’t talk for years for a reason that Irrfan denied to feature in one of his films. For the unversed, Irrfan was an integral part of Vishal's filmography. 

The filmmaker said, “We were making Ishqiya (2010), which Abhishek Chaubey was directing, and obviously, Irrfan had to be in it. We never used to think beyond Irrfan Khan and he had already agreed. So, when we reached out to him, he said, ‘Oh Vishal sir, I’ve given my dates to another film.' I asked him why. He said, Your No Smoking (2007) flopped so I thought you won’t make another film now.' And we'd said no to a big female actor because she said I won't work with Irrfan because he's not a commercial actor. And we'd told her if you won't work with Irrfan, we won't work with you. Now, I'm laughing at it, but I was very angry at him. I said, ‘Films work and flop, but how dare you think that I’d not stand by my films.' I didn't talk to him, or pick up his calls for two-three years. Then he also stopped calling because I didn't want to talk to him.”

Vishal further added, “Nobody was saying yes to a character in Saat Khoon Maaf (2011) because he was a wife-beater. It was a complex character as he used to feel sexually aroused only by beating up his wife. It was such a terrific character and written by Ruskin Bond. Every actor, big or small, was saying no to that role. So, I thought if Irrfan was there, he'd have got this character. So, I called him but dropped the call after the first ring. He called back and asked me why I called him. I told him there's a role. He said I don't want a narration, I just want to work with you. So, from then, our friendship started again.”

Source:  The Lallantop