Audience today is a critical lot: Irrfan

Actor Irrfan Khan in a candid one-on-one interview with TOI.
You have two films — “Hisss” and “Knock Out” — releasing pretty close to one another.
It wasn’t planned like that at all. Actually, “Hisss” was supposed to release earlier, but due to some reasons it was delayed. It’s scheduled to hit the marquee sometime soon. I don’t think there’s going to be much confusion there, because they are two very different films.
You are not known to sign too many films...
I only sign a movie when I strongly believe that the story needs to be told. The subject should be exciting to me
because, as I have said earlier, I should connect to it. The audience today is a critical lot. If you are not involved in the story, they feel it and don’t connect to it themselves. But that apart, I haven’t had much choice in terms of signing movies. Few good scripts come my way. The rest I didn’t care much about.
You are one of the few Indian actors who is known well in Hollywood.
It feels really great and humbling when you get such exposure. I’m really fortunate to have worked with directors who have given me the chance to act in their movies. But the fact remains that the English audience doesn’t know much about our films (Hindi movies). They have preconceived notion about us. Yes, Bollywood films do release abroad but they are watched mostly by the NRIs who are a sizeable population.
You look different in the promos of your latest film.
I sat with the creative team and we brain-stormed a lot on finding a new look for the character I’m playing in “Knock Out”. Yes, it is different from what I’ve looked earlier. But I wasn’t apprehensive because it doesn’t look like a caricature. The long curly hair, beard etc suits the character perfectly. The subject is based on a true story and it’s explosive in nature. I think people coming into the theatres will enjoy watching the film.
Considering that “Dabangg” is the new falvour at the BO, how do you think your film will fare?
Honestly, no one can predict the outcome of a film. We make a movie with all honesty and try to make it as engaging as possible. How the audience reacts to it, depends on various factors. It’s a new film, a new subject and hopefully the audience will love it. But the reaction can only be gauged after the first show.
How involved are you (creatively) in the process of film making?
An actor puts everything into the character he/she is playing. You have to be part of everything around you. You have to be totally into it. At the same time an actor should never forget that the prime focus is to entertain and engage the audience. Being creatively involved only helps taking the subject in a clear manner to the audience. Your involvement in the subject shows when the role translates
beautifully on celluloid.
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