Sutapa said, “His mother tongue was Hindi, he used to think in Hindi. So, I personally felt it took him some time to get comfortable in the English language. Very strictly my approach. I think language was a barrier ” Quoted in the book.
Irrfan, who died of cancer in April, 2020, transcended geographical barriers and won international acclaim for his roles in films such as “Life of Pi”, “Jurassic World”, “Inferno” and the Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire”.
She added, “I always used to tell him, ‘Hollywood ki picture agar Hindi mein bolti na, ab tak tujhe Oscar mil gaya hota’.”
Sutapa also found flaws in Irrfan’s 2006 Bengali film “The Namesake”, but acknowledged the actor’s hard work in smoothing his English sound.
He recalled Irrfan’s conversation with the veteran Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer at a family dinner during the shooting of “Inferno,” and how nervous she was that the actor would make a “grammatical mistake” — which he didn’t.
“He was talking and I was getting nervous: Abhi yeh kuch bhi bolega hi bolega! Ki ‘Tu to aise baithak hogi hogi aapne finger kab yeh kya bhi gamaat blunder’. (You’ll be waiting, holding your breath, for me to make a grammatical mistake),” she recalled.
Talking about her favorite performances of Irrfan, the 55-year-old writer said she loved him in American drama television series “In Treatment”, “Qarib Qarib Singlle” and “Maqbool” – where she felt in some scenes That he has gone ahead of Irfan too. Murti Naseeruddin Shah.
However, it was the actor’s performance in the National Award-winning “Paan Singh Tomar” that made Sutapa – also Irrfan’s batchmate from the National School of Drama (NSD) – emotional.
“I wouldn’t say, ‘Oh wow, what an amazing thing you did!’ (What a wonderful performance you have given!) Until I really felt it, you know? Like in ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, I felt he lived that character, and I cried. And he cried because he Said this is the first time I was approving of his performance,” she said.
“Irrfan: Life in Movies”, which is set to release on June 7, presents a compelling account of Irrfan’s life and achievements – from his days at NSD to his nearly decade-long stint in television and gradually – His ascent into the world slowly. film industry.
It engages prominent people including director Mira Nair, Vishal Bhardwaj and Anurag Basu in conversation on the actor’s art, craft and legacy.