Piyush Mishra opens up on Irrfan Khan’s brilliance and Ranbir Kapoor’s carefree nature, ‘Irrfan left too soon... Ranbir nanga besharam aadmi hai’

Actor-writer Piyush Mishra, who has worked closely with both the late Irrfan Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, recently opened up about his experiences with the two actors, offering rare emotional recollections and a frank assessment that shed new light on his equation with a departed legend and a leading star of today.

"Irrfan Khan left too soon”

When asked about Irrfan, Mishra paused, gathering his emotions before sharing memories that were both affectionate and painfully raw.

“He left too soon, yaar. It hurts a lot... he was such a great actor,” he told The Lallantop, recalling the news of Irrfan’s passing with visible discomfort. Mishra admitted that while Irrfan wasn’t his closest friend, the respect between them ran deep.




“To be honest, he wasn’t that close a friend of mine — not the way he was with Tigmanshu Dhulia or Vishal Bhardwaj,” he said. “But somewhere, I feel he must still be listening.”

Mishra reflected on their contrasting journeys at NSD, describing himself as an intuitive actor and Irrfan as an intelligent one, often disagreeing with each other’s methods. Their paths diverged after graduation — Mishra into theatre, Irrfan into television — until destiny reunited them 14 years later in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool.

“He was acting with his method, I was acting with mine. After Maqbool, we understood each other. We told each other, ‘You did good work.’ That’s where a bond formed.”

Calling Irrfan “very young” at the time of his death, Mishra added, “People say he was a real yaar-type person. Maybe he and I couldn’t become so close, but I’ve heard he was a wonderful human being. May God give peace to his soul and make his sons great actors.”

“Ranbir doesn’t carry even 1% of his legacy”

Switching to Ranbir Kapoor, Mishra’s tone instantly transformed — amused, admiring and full of praise.

“Arre, don’t even ask — that guy is something else,” he laughed. “Itna nanga besharam aadmi maine aaj tak nahi dekha (I haven’t seen such a chilled-out, shamelessly relaxed guy)!”

Mishra, who worked with Ranbir in Rockstar and Tamasha, said he was struck by how the actor remains unaffected by the massive Kapoor lineage behind him.

“He comes from such a long, long legacy — his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, all the way back to Prithviraj Kapoor. But none of that burdens him. Not even 1%.”



The senior actor described Ranbir as someone who does his job with sincerity but drops all weight the moment the camera stops rolling.

“He never carries the pressure of being someone’s grandson or heir. Unlike Irrfan, who stayed deeply concentrated even after the shot, Ranbir becomes completely light, completely free.”

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