Irrfan
Khan's
role
in
Slumdog
Millionaire
has
been
seriously
chopped
off.
Apparently
a
lot
of
his
footage
had
to
be
deleted
for
the
sake
of
a
tightly
bound
narrative.
Irrfan,
who
plays
the
cop
interrogating
the
young
hero
to
know
how
he
knows
all
the
answers
on
the
game-show,
is
surprisingly
candid
on
the
cutting
down
of
his
characterization.
"I
saw
how
much
my
role
was
edited
when
I
was
dubbing
for
the
Hindi
version.
My
role
especially
in
the
second-half
has
been
drastically
reduced.
But
I'm
not
complaining.
Just
look
at
the
impact
the
film
has
made.
I'm
so
proud
to
be
a
part
of
it.",
says
the
talented
actor
Shedding
light
on
his
role's
radical
reduction
Irrfan
says,
"In
the
second-half
my
character
goes
through
this
complete
redemptive
graph
which
has
been
removed.
After
brutally
interrogating
the
boy
my
character
of
the
police
officer
personally
takes
him
back
to
the
game
show
when
he
gets
to
know
that
the
boy
did
it
for
love.
That
entire
track
has
been
removed.
But
that's
okay.
Roles
are
often
reduced
for
the
betterment
of
the
film.
This
isn't
the
first
time
this
has
happened
to
me.
Actors
must
stop
being
possessive
about
what
they
shoot."
Irrfan
was
recently
in
Jaipur
visiting
his
mother
and
that
is
the
reason
why
he
wasn't
at
the
Golden
Globe
ceremony.
"Of
course
I
was
invited.
But
I
had
made
plans
to
spend
time
with
my
mother
long
time
back.
If
I
missed
this
chance,
I'd
not
have
been
able
to
visit
her
again
for
a
very
long
time.
I'd
rather
fly
kites
in
my
mother's
home
than
blow
kisses
in
LA.
I'm
not
new
to
international
events.
I've
been
through
them
with
films
like
The
Namesake,
Warrior
and
A
Mighty
Heart."
Irrfan
is
also
unperturbed
by
the
charge
of
Slumdog
Millionaire
selling
Mumbai's
misery
to
the
West.
"It's
the
reality.
Why
should
it
be
swept
under
the
carpet?
Why
should
Danny
Boyle
have
been
concerned
about
what
image
of
Mumbai
goes
out
when
we've
done
nothing
to
keep
our
own
city
morally
and
physically
clean?
Danny
saw
a
good
dramatic
story
on
Mumbai.
He
came
and
shot
that
story.
As
far
as
the
filth
goes,
we're
a
dead
and
dying
society,
and
the
sooner
we
face
up
to
it
the
better
our
chances
of
redeeming
ourselves.
Look
at
the
Satyam
scandal.
Can
you
imagine
how
many
working-class
families
have
been
ruined
because
of
the
avarice
of
top
brass
at
the
company?
And
I'm
sure
there're
many
other
companies
just
waiting
to
do
a
similar
con
job
on
us.
Now
if
tomorrow
another
foreign
filmmaker
comes
to
do
an
expose
on
Satyam,
are
we
going
to
call
him
exploitative?"
Irrfan
is
now
looking
forward
to
gauging
the
response
to
the
Hindi
dubbed
version
of
Slumdog
Millionaire.
"I'm
sure
the
Hindi
version
will
be
liked.
It's
the
English
version
I'm
apprehensive
about.
The
intelligentsia
will
ask
questions
about
the
hero
from
the
Mumbai
slums
speaking
fluent
English.
The
Hindi
viewers
will
just
have
a
good
time."
,signs
off
the
versatile
actor.
Story first published: Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 14:47 [IST]