Vishal Bhardwaj reveals that Irrfan Khan was original choice for Arshad Warsi’s role in Ishqiya; Irrfan gave away Ishqiya’s dates after No Smoking flopped: “Main bahut gussa hua, aur hum dono ki do-teen saal baat bandh hui thi”

By Fenil Seta -

February 3, 2024 - 3:27 PM IST

One of the most critically acclaimed films of the 2000s, Maqbool (2004), completed 20 years on January 30. It gave a boost to the careers of director Vishal Bhardwaj and actor Irrfan Khan. It also starred Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur and was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Recently, an event titled ‘Irrfan: A Retrospective’ was held where the late actor’s films were screened, including Maqbool. Vishal Bhardwaj, Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan’s wife Sutapa Sikdar and son Babil were also present and they shared interesting anecdotes.

Vishal Bhardwaj reveals that Irrfan Khan was original choice for Arshad Warsi’s role in Ishqiya; Irrfan gave away Ishqiya’s dates after No Smoking flopped: “Main bahut gussa hua, aur hum dono ki do-teen saal baat bandh hui thi”

Vishal Bhardwaj revealed that Irrfan Khan was the original choice for Arshad Warsi’s role in his production, Ishqiya (2010). Irrfan had shown interest but he assumed that the film wouldn’t be made after No Smoking (2007), which was also produced by Vishal, flopped at the box office. This infuriated Vishal and they both didn’t speak for 2-3 years. The cold war ended after Irrfan Khan came on board for Vishal’s 7 Khoon Maaf (2011). When Vishal chopped off his role, this time, it was Irrfan’s turn to get angry! However, all got well once they worked on Haider (2014).

Vishal Bhardwaj said at this event, as reported in Bombay Times, “Both the producer and the director (of No Smoking) wanted me to be associated with it, toh maina apna naam de diya. That movie flopped badly. After that, when we started shooting Ishqiya, Irrfan told me that he had given away all the dates meant for Ishqiya. He said, ‘Aapki film toh flop ho gayi, toh mujhe laga aap toh aage banaoge nahi.’ Toh main bahut gussa hua, aur hum dono ki do-teen saal baat bandh hui thi.”

Vishal continued, “Phir main jab 7 Khoon Maaf bana raha tha, I was unable to cast for the part that he eventually played. When I called him for it, I told him that I had a small role for him. He said, ‘Aap jo bhi bolenge, main karunga, mujhe toh aapko manana hai’. Par jab editing ka time aaya, toh woh role kaatna pada. He got angry.”

Irrfan Khan had a cameo-like appearance in Haider but it was much loved. He was happy with the way he was given a clap-worthy entry shot in the Shahid Kapoor-starrer. Vishal narrated, “For Haider, when I spoke to him, tab unhone kaha ke ‘Pehli shart yeh hai ki jo part kaata tha 7 Khoon Maaf mein, usse YouTube pe release karo’. Maine kaha ‘Theek hai’, par aaj tak woh nahi mila. (His second condition was), ‘Main paise bahut loonga tumse, kyunki tumne mere saath yeh gadbad ki thi’. I said ‘The role is yours and the money is also yours’, because I knew nobody could play the Ghost. After the trial of the show, he said, ‘Agar aisi entry deni thi toh paise kyun diye?’.”