SHOCKING: When Irrfan Khan was attacked by a buffalo on the outskirts of Jaisalmer

By Fenil Seta -

May 1, 2022 - 12:30 PM IST

Irrfan Khan, who passed away two years ago, on April 29, 2020, delivered several memorable performances in his illustrious career. However, for many moviegoers, his performance in Anup Singh’s Qissa (2015) ranks as one of his best. Irrfan Khan, too, was happy working with the talented director and both collaborated again on The Song Of The Scorpions (2017). The film was shot in the arid region of Rajasthan and the actor and the director both had a dangerous experience while shooting for this film. Anup Singh has documented this aspect in his book 'Irrfan: Dialogues With The Wind' which was released earlier this year.

SHOCKING: When Irrfan Khan was attacked by a buffalo on the outskirts of Jaisalmer

Anup Singh wrote that a scene he was shooting with Irrfan Khan didn’t come out as intended. After pack-up, he and the actor were returning to their hotel, in Jaisalmer. However, Anup told the driver to instead drive towards the sand dunes to clear their minds. They saw a tea shop and decided to halt there. As they sat there sipping tea and munching on glucose biscuits, a bullock and a calf began walking towards them. Both seemed malnourished and hungry. At Irrfan Khan’s suggestion, Anup Singh fed them biscuits. Both the animals eagerly had it, prompting Anup to buy more biscuits from the shop for them.

However, the bullock seemed aggressive. It began to ram into Anup a couple of times. The second time the bullock attacked him, Anup got hurt in the chest. During the third time, Anup wrote that “I felt the jolt tear through my body. My head lurched forward, and my left cheekbone smashed into its horn. For a moment, I felt my eye had popped out.”

Realizing things can go wrong, Irrfan Khan advised Anup Singh to jump over the low-boundary wall of the tea shop. Irrfan Khan then got mildly attacked too, prompting him to fall on his knees and hands. Irrfan, too, jumped over the wall. Thankfully, the bullock couldn’t jump and reach out to them. Anup Singh still had a few biscuits left and he threw them as far as he could. The bullock instantly ran towards the biscuits. This is when Anup Singh realized that while Irrfan had some scratches on his palms, his chest was “blotchy with bruises”.

The bullock finished the biscuits by then and returned in front of the wall, behind which Irrfan Khan and Anup Singh were hiding. Anup Singh narrated in the book that even in such a life-and-death situation, Irrfan’s sense of humour was intact. Irrfan began talking to the bullock, “Bhai, aapko zara sochna chahiye. Agar aapko koi kuch khila raha tha, toh kya zaroorat hai uski haddiyan todne ki.” He then asked the animal, “Aap humein ab jaane doge ki nahin?”

Anup Singh then reminded the actor that he had the driver’s phone number. He quickly called the driver and told him to come to the spot where they were hiding from the bullock. The driver arrived, opened the back door for them and both immediately jumped into the car and sped away.

In the car, Irrfan told Anup Singh that “Something has changed.” Anup later mentioned in the book that this crazy experience they had helped Irrfan Khan in cracking the shot that they had difficulties shooting a day before

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