SHOCKING: Irrfan Khan’s car was attacked during Haider shoot in Srinagar; Vishal Bhardwaj reveals, “Any other actor would have left but Irrfan made fun of it. He said, ‘Arre, aisa nishaana tha saale ka…kya throw thi uski’!”

April 29, 2026, marked the sixth death anniversary of Irrfan Khan. On this occasion, a screening of A Story That Refused To Die was held at Mumbai's Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. The 47-minute-long documentary threw light on the making of Irrfan's acclaimed film, Paan Singh Tomar (2012). After the screening, noted journalist Saurabh Dwivedi had a conversation with Paan Singh Tomar's director, Tigmanshu Dhulia, and Irrfan's other close filmmaker friend, Vishal Bhardwaj. Vishal shared fascinating trivia about Irrfan’s association with the former’s acclaimed film, Haider (2014).

 

SHOCKING: Irrfan Khan’s car was attacked during Haider shoot in Srinagar; Vishal Bhardwaj reveals, “Any other actor would have left but Irrfan made fun of it. He said, ‘Arre, aisa nishaana tha saale ka…kya throw thi uski’!”

 

Vishal Bhardwaj said, “At first, Irrfan had declined to play the role in Haider. He said, ‘I don’t want to shoot with you for 5-6 days for a film. Aapke saath kuch bada karenge ab’! However, I insisted that he read Haider’s script. Irrfan was a very politically aware person. When he read it, he said ‘This film should be made and I’ll play this role’.”

 

Tigmanshu Dhulia revealed, “I remember he met me after he saw the trial of Haider. He told me, ‘Tishu, dekhna Vishal ne mera kya introduction kiya hai’! And he was so right. The way he comes from being out of focus to coming into focus is brilliant.” Vishal Bhardwaj smiled as he continued, “He saw it and told me, ‘Aisa introduction karna tha toh mujhe iss role ke paise kyun diye?’!”

 

Vishal Bhardwaj then opened up on a shocking incident, “We were shooting in Downtown Srinagar. At that time, the locals used to not trust us, the filmmakers, at all. They used to feel that we’ll show our heroes hiding AK-47 in their phiran and that Kashmiris are terrorists. Some residents wanted to click a picture with Irrfan. Lekin CRPF waalon ne unko wahan se hata diya. In anger, one of them attacked Irrfan’s car, breaking the glass window.”

 

Vishal Bhardwaj continued, “We learned of this attack and rushed to the hotel. I feared that Irrfan would be very angry over this incident. However, I saw Irrfan sitting in the lobby. He told me, ‘Arre, mazaa aa gaya Vishal sahab!’. I asked him, ‘Kya hua?’. He replied, ‘Arre, aisa nishaana tha saale ka. Usne beech mein patthar fek ke maara. Kya throw thi uski’! He also added, ‘The security guard began loading his gun. I told him, paagal ho gaya hai kya? Goli chalayega?’!”

 

Vishal Bhardwaj further said, “He was talking about it very casually. Any other actor would have left after facing such an untoward incident. But Irrfan made fun of it aur tafree mein kissa suna raha tha (smiles).”

 

Also Read: Vishal Bhardwaj explains why he didn’t speak with Irrfan Khan for 2 ½ years: “He gave away his Ishqiya dates and said, ‘Mujhe laga ki ab aap koi film produce nahin karenge kyunki No Smoking pit gayi’!”

Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection,New Movies Release, Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood News Today & upcoming movies 2024 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.