[ad_1]
Associated Press
UDAIPUR, Rajasthan – Irrfan Khan reads. When he reads, he mumbles for himself, he plays the scene in his head. When he reads, he looks like someone who sings kindly for himself – not by memorizing the lines, but by internalizing them, making them his own.
It is well over 40 degrees to Ravla Khempur, a small hamlet located two hours from Udaipur, where a dramatic haveli was reused in a setting for Angrezi Medium Homi Adajania film which marks the return of Irrfan from a rare and potentially fatal disease.
Young members of the team turn in the sun, waving walkie-talkies in
Irrfan lit.
When he was playing the tired widower of the world, Saajan Fernandes in The Lunchbox Irrfan was reading Murakami. Now, while he plays Champak, the owner of a confectionery, Irrfan is lost in another disc.
Every morning, from Monday to Friday, you receive our announcement the best news. Newsletters can offer personalized content or advertisements.
Learn more
When it will be time to confront the camera, Irrfan will be ready, as he has been for a little over 30 years as a professional actor. He will deliver his lines with his usual impetus, his face will illuminate with this familiar obsessive intensity.
But this time, on this film, under the burning sun of Rajasthan, Irrfan will act with the wisdom that comes only from him. an intimate encounter with mortality and knowing that characters – such as Roohdar, Maqbool, or Saajan – can be immortal, but the actors are not.
Contributor of AFP via Getty Images
In March 2018, Irrfan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare form of cancer, for which he sought treatment in a specialized hospital in London. For nearly a year, Irrfan and his wife Sutapa Sikdar moved to the UK in an apartment located near the hospital.
"We were completely alone, not surrounded by movies or people from the industry. We would not even know which movie is coming out this Friday, Sikdar said. "It was like discovering a new life together."
After a long absence, Irrfan is back on the set.
Soon, Adajania will snap fingers and say, "Ready."
An badistant will shout, "Silence"
The buzz of large air-coolers will calm down.
And at the call of "action", Irrfan will intervene.
But for the moment, there is still time to move to the next page.
Thus reads Irrfan Khan, the calm and haunting spirit – the Roohdar – of Bollywood. ***
Perhaps it is appropriate that Irrfan's resurrection unfolds in Rajasthan, his homeland.
Irrfan Yaseen Khan was born in Jaipur in 1967 – the year of the first reading between Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty . Clyde Sharmila Tagore and Shammi Kapoor were hanging out in An Evening in Paris and Dev Anand played a double role in Jewel Thief . Shah Rukh Khan was two years old.
Two years later, in 1969, Amitabh Bachchan made his debut in the play of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Saat Hindustani .
Irrfan grew up in Jaipur. wanted to be an actor. When he discovered that there was a school in Delhi that taught drama, he lied in his application form to do theater.
"I was getting desperate to enter the National Theater School," he told Mumbai . Mirror . "I had barely worked in one or two rooms but I lied shamelessly in the application form. I thought that if it did not work, my life would be over. I will go crazy or burn everything in Jaipur.
No fire has been reported in Jaipur.
For the latest election news, follow HuffPost India on on Twitter Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter.
He debuted with a little writer in 1988 in Salaam Bombay by Mira Nair followed by a series of soap opera roles known to those who were fortunate enough to have from a television in the early 1990s – Bharat Ek Khoj Chanakya Chandrakanta . In the late 1990s, when Irrfan was stuck in movies like Private Detective: Two plus two plus one that disappeared without a trace, Shah Rukh Khan had already done it Deewana Darr Baazigar and Dilwale Dulhaniya The Jayenge.
During his long career, Irrfan has starred in an impressive 143 films and television series, including a hundred, Shah Rukh and Salman's 120.
At the Turn of the Millennium, Irrfan was still working through the Bollywood star system before breaking into 2001 with Asif Kapadia with The Warrior a film that took him to the world market and then Vishal Bhardwaj's Mahalbab 2003 film that changed the life and career of the director and the actor.
From that moment, Irrfan appeared in a dizzying array of roles, including a meeting with Mira Nair in The Namesake and High Hollywood Productions as A Strong Heart [19659030] The Jurbadic World The Amazing Spider-Man and The Life of Pi.
Irrfan would produce some of his best work in Bhardwaj's films, and perhaps even more annoying, ethereal and downright weird than Roohdar in Haider .
***
Irrfan as Roohdar in & # 39; Haider & # 39;
In the winter of 2014, the crew of Haider of Bhardwaj prepared the shot. It was -14 degrees, Kashmir was frozen. The scene involved Roohdar from Irrfan lying in a torture chamber while other prisoners were sleeping.
While everyone was busy setting up the frame, Vishal Bhardwaj remembered, Irrfan appeared silent as night. He chose a place and sat down.
"We did not even decide where he was supposed to sit," said Bhardwaj. "A few minutes after his installation, a strange energy invaded the torture chamber. We realized that Irrfan was in the middle of the performance. Slowly, everyone took his place without disturbing him of his element. We rolled the camera and got the shot, and it came out of this state of trance.
That's what distinguishes Irrfan, said Bhardwaj. "It's his ability to understand the scenario as a whole and not just his share," said Bhardwaj HuffPost India . "I saw actors tell their time on the screen, the duration of dialogues, etc. Not him. For him, no matter the length or the length of the piece. He reacts to the holistic grammar of the film and not just to a part of it. Bhardwaj says he discovered Irrfan in the film Haasil by Tigmanshu Dhulia . ] his heart-upgrade from Macbeth. "He has no effort in his performance, but let me tell you he is preparing a lot. He immerses himself in the world of the character. When he arrives on the set, he's so laid-back, you're like, is he even ready? And once the camera turns, my god, it's magic.
Director Ang Lee, director of Irrfan's Free Floating Magic, is one thing director Ang Lee has won three times at the Oscars for Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain and The Hidden Dragon of the Crouching Tiger was noticed when he directed the actor in Life of Pi.
"I have thought that I needed a pretty brilliant actor. I told myself "Who else?", Said Lee at New York Times adding that Irrfan's was not one to play "you can plan" .
"I gave my direction and my thoughts," OK, that's it. "It looks like there's something floating in the air, and sometimes he catches it and sometimes not. "
***
Homi Adajania Angrezi Medium a sequel of 2017 & nbs Hindi Medium is a comedy in emotional heart. Irrfan plays Champak, the owner of a confectionery shop in Udaipur and a single father who raises his teenage daughter.
"It's a confectionery seller that's easy but does not like to be super-affluent. , "Adajania says from Irrfan.
Ankur Pathak
We are in the veranda of Champak's house, a corner that I suppose serves also study to his daughter Tarika by Radhika Madan
A stack of books is perched on a coffee table, plants are placed on a ledge and a cloth with a camel painting clumsily adorns the wall. [19659004] Irrfan and Radhika repeat the scene several times as Adajania and his director of photography, the legendary Anil Mehta, are lost in a conversation about the framing of the shot.
A moment later, Irrfan nods his head he had solved the puzzle presented by this particular scene.The scene shows his daughter shooting a selfie video in which she calls Udaipur a "smol city".
Irrfan is supposed to interrupt his video to say that it's not so small. [19659004] At the beginning of the clip, Madan Irrfan, who sprinkles nearby plants, shows up to teach her how to do it.
She speaks poor English English with a hinterland accent. He speaks Hindi with an expression of Rajasthan.
"Udaipur not smol city", he interrupts, a smile full of pride of a small town. " Chhota nahi hai Udaipur, bohot bada hai ."
Her daughter is angry; Irrfan's expression quickly becomes worrying. She asks him to leave. He begins to water his plants again. The video starts again.
"I come from Udaipur, a Smolee at Té in Rajasthan."
"A big city, Udaipur is a big city," irrigates Irrfan.
The focus is on the big Irrfan's eyes shine every time he pronounces the word to express his conviction.
This is a simple scene that establishes minor conflicts between a single father and a teenage daughter wishing to escape the life of the small town. But Irrfan goes through several iterations – subtly modifying the points of emphasis in the dialogue, discreetly altering his body language until he is satisfied with the scene.
***
In another scene, we move to the bedroom of the house, a neat and sober space with basic sheets that signal a middle-clbad household.
Irrfan and Radhika Madan have an emotional sequence. Madan's character is locked in the bathroom.
Her father persuades her to go out.
After questioning him in a polite paternal tone, he gives up.
"Mum would have understood," she cries. inside.
That breaks it. And U.S. His shoulders sag, he smiles, but he suffers as if an old scar had become a new wound. The girl's words went through the door and went through her soul. She comes out of regret and they share a tender moment that sums up love, loss and desire. Throughout the scene, it is impossible to look away from Irrfan's eyes as they go from bright to playful to hurt to painful.
The scene recalls The Namesake where the woman Irrfan, played by Tabu in The film also locks in the bathroom and he sings to make her go out.
"I remember being completely upset. I had not seen anything like it, "said Marc Webb, who realized 500 days in the summer and who had directed Irrfan in The Amazing Spider-Man about the same sequence.
Webb is right in his badessment. Irrfan's vulnerability is its greatest strength; when he exposes his fragility, we see his pain.
"And if he feels it, you feel it," Adajania told me. "If he can not, you will not do it. He has a spectrum of expressions that he can summon at will. It's pure happiness to lead it. "
****
UTV
Ritesh Batra, who worked with the actor in The Lunchbox (2014), remembers a filming on the busy Mohammad Ali street, in Mumbai, the crowd became unruly .
Batra and his team had gathered to shoot the farewell scene between Irrfan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui's characters . The team was concerned because some 5,000 people had gathered to watch the two actors.
"Everything drowned when we started to roll, that was his goal. He was not affected by the distractions. It's because he has this extraordinary ability to reflect life. It's a gift that he has developed into craftsmanship, "said Batra, adding that he counted Irrfan alongside Robert Redford and Charlotte Rampling (whom he also directed) among the best actors in the region.
It was on the set of the same movie where Batra had noticed Irrfan's reading habits.
"While filming The Lunchbox Irrfan was often seen reading books before and after filming," Batra recalled during a telephone conversation in New York.
While probing a bit, Batra discovered that Irrfan was reading a bunch of Murakami titles. " Norwegian Wood if I remember correctly." Irrfan's literary interest in filming, soon appeared, was intended to plunge him into the world of love and the Urgent desire of Murakami, also underlying The Lunchbox explains Batra.
"I was amazed. They (Murakami's books) were all similar to the world of our film. This is the kind of actor he is. I do not think he'll agree to make a movie if he can not find his way into the role. "
***
The team members say that the disease did not attenuate the intensity of Irrfan, but that it was reduced to
In two weeks, he moved from three hotels.The Radisson Blu near Fateh Sagar Lake in Udaipur was convenient, but a wedding ceremony bothered him.
"He likes the calm He wanted to stay in a place where he could see the stars at night and hear the sounds of nature, "said a member of the crew.
After a few calls, they found a quiet family home run by a local family, where Irrfan felt at home. "It's the priority. Although he pulls as needed, we are extremely sensitive to his needs. "
Whether in the oil of his food, in the spices or in the flour used in his meals, everything comes from Mumbai.
" It's all organic and specific to his needs . His food is prepared accordingly and he must have them at certain times, "added the person.
Twitter
Interviews with Deputy Directors The film reveals that filming is designed to suit the actor.
"For example, we avoid filming between 12 and 3 o'clock when the sun is at its maximum. The evenings are lighter, "said a crew member. "There were occasions when we closed the scenes and he was like, what's next? There was nothing – we were done for the day. But he is always ready to go further. "
Between takes, Irrfan takes breaks, which allows him to finish shooting in big pieces. "He is tired when he talks too long. So, we put it in place, "said a crew member.
In Khempur, Irrfan, after giving out catch, went away to a room reserved for his rest. He was spotted lying on his back on the bed, his script in hand, lost in the world of fiction.
When he was sitting with Adajania and Sikdar Between breaks, he meditated nonchalantly on the political news.The climate that hangs over the rise of right-wing formations around the world, from America to Brazil via Poland and think about the arrest of Julian Assange and the Russian exile of Edward Snowden
But not everything is serious Adajania and Irrfan would also manage a lot, as shown by their Twitter feeds.The mood of the whole was calm and cheerful.
"It's a light atmosphere, it's like that. musant, easy, "said Irrfan to Adajania with a smile," It's the first thing I'm looking for, how fun you can have, "the manager replied with a smile.
"Other things in life are so unpredictable," said Irrfan.
While Irrfan was devoting all his energy to returning to the plateaux, his return was not without hiccups. His medications have side effects and one of them is irritability.
Between two shots, Irfan chewed a sugar cane stalk.
"What I like about sugar cane is that the juice slowly seeps in while you chew the cane. "Irrfan says to no one in particular. "It's gratifying."
After chewing the cane for a moment, he puts the residue in a cup. As the flies gathered, a boy on the spot appeared with an electric racquet of the type used to kill mosquitoes.
"Do not kill them," said Irrfan. "Take a cloth and wipe the floor. They will go there. "
When the sheet did not arrive, Irrfan was visibly annoyed and went away to ask why such a simple task took so long.
" He's not usually angry, but this is happening now. so what. He hates it later, "said Sikdar, his wife.
As dusk sets in the arid north, the sky turns to its darkest shade of pale orange, the one you see on camel silhouettes The haveli, a magnificent structure full of dramatic arches and ancient lighting, is slowly becoming animated as the pace of the crew also decreases
for the following stroke. " What you see now, it's the character, not the actor.It disappears in his role. "Adajania said, adding that Angrezi Medium is a crazy scenario ] with a lot of crazy situations that seem incredible on paper
] "But when Irrfan acts in these situations, you believe it, sometimes I feel like it's like watching magic When I see him playing, I wonder, wait, what did you do, as What did you do? "
***
Irrfan at Saat Khoon Maaf [19659003] Wasiullah Khan was a day poet, a sadomasochist of his wife Susanna de night.
Until Irrfan decides to make one during the shooting of Saat Khoon Maaf.
"He said that would make impending violence more shocking. It worked, "said Bhardwaj, who headed Saat Khoon Maaf HuffPost India . "He said, let's try to make it feminine and see what we get out of it, the results are to be seen, that is his contribution to a film."
If he is extremely committed and serious about his He also has a naughty sense of humor, one of the many ways that Irrfan has managed the neuroendocrine tumor is to break it with humor, and when people visit him in the UK, he feasted on them by describing the medical procedure. with hilarious details and amusing twists.
"Currently, my life is a thriller, a comedy, a satire, and an emotional drama," says Bhardwaj.
"It's like that he's He had rationalized, transforming his illness into a film, then described in detail and in detail all that the doctors had at their disposal.We intended to spend an hour, we ended up pbading it's him.You're never tired ", ad enlightened Bhardwaj.
***
While the last shot of the day is being canned, Irrfan slowly returns to his room, which team members describe as "his meditative space".
A rider is sent to Udaipur for medicine.
The next day's plans are discussed as the crew goes to bed for dinner.
Another day of shooting happened without incident. Irrfan is back home.
All is well
