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 opened up on why he and Irrfan didn’t communicate with each other for a couple of years.
Vishal Bhardwaj began by saying, “Mera Irrfan se jhagda ho gaya tha, ek baat ko leke. Hence, we didn't speak with each other for 2 ½ years.”
When asked the reason behind it, he replied, “He wanted to be a part of Ishqiya (2010). This was the time when a film which I produced, No Smoking (2007), bombed at the box office. We approached him for dates for Ishqiya, but he had given away his dates. He said, ‘Mujhe laga ki ab aap koi film produce nahin karenge kyunki aapki film pit gayi! So, I gave my dates to someone else’. I told him, ‘Irrfan, aisa thodi hota hai? Will I stop making films just because one film didn't work?’. I was very angry with Irrfan Khan and hence I stopped talking to him.”
Vishal Bhardwaj continued, “2 ½ years passed. I was making 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) and I couldn't get anyone for the role (of Wasiullah Khan aka Musafir). So, I called Irrfan. He picked up and said, ‘I was waiting for your phone call for a long time. I don't want to hear the narration. I'll do any film that you offer, kyunki mujhe aapko manana hai’. He was such a lovely soul (smiles).”
Tigmanshu Dhulia then raised laughs as he added, “I fought with Irrfan because of you! He was offered Maqbool (2004) when he saw Haasil.”
He continued, “Irrfan ne mujhe bewakoof banaya tha. No distributor was ready to buy Haasil. Irrfan claimed to have spoken to a distributor and asked me for a trial. I agreed and held a screening at Dimple Theatre. After sometime, I saw this bhaisaab (pointing at Vishal Bhardwaj) entering with 3-4 people. Irrfan looked at me and said, ‘Please yaar, let them see’. He saw the film and that’s how he signed Irrfan for Maqbool.”
He also revealed, “Meanwhile, I started working on another film named Charas (2003). In Maqbool, he was required to have a beard. Meanwhile, one scene of Haasil was yet to be shot. It required Irrfan to do an action sequence in a crowded area in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. He refused to shave off his beard, citing ‘Mujhe Vishal ki picture karni hai’! I was at wits’ end. But he was such a khatarnaak actor that he made sure that no one from the audience realized that he had a beard in that scene! Daadhi hai uski lekin picture mein aapko pata nahin chalega (laughs).”
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