"New York is about America's attitude after 9/11" - Irrfan Khan
Irrfan has a mellow, soft-spoken presence and, true to past interrogations, not prone to self-examination about this whole acting lark. "I keep it simple. Just learn the lines and show up," is his modest assessment of his talent. His audience, well wishers and the media often refers him as a junkie. Why? We don't know. But he is one when it comes to his work. His performances pack in charm, determination, eccentricity and humour. His drooping eyes tell you that he isn't in deep slumber, but a submersive chameleon whose own subtle, taciturn personality allows him to vanish under the skin of the person he's playing.
Meeting the actor in flesh is a rare privilege these days: he hardly ever does interviews and is known for his aversion to the Indian press, sometimes. That's what we hear from those who've been waiting for their turn since more than two hours at the J.W. Marriott. They say there are no second takes, but maybe when you're born in India, you can bend the rules. Hell, maybe when you're Irrfan Khan, the rules don't even exist. So when we met Khan, there were bound to be plenty of journalists left scratching their heads, but Irrfan is staunchly against explanations; he'll go just far enough to tell you he is late but he is there, so get started!
9/11:
Yun
Hota
Toh
Kya
Hota
and
New
York
"I
won't
claim
that
I
know
more
about
the
9/11
incident
just
because
I
am
the
only
actor
who
has
been
a
part
of
two
of
its
franchise.
New
York
isn't
about
9/11.
It's
about
America's
attitude
before
that
black
day
and
their
attitude
post
9/11.
I
play
a
Muslim
FBI
Officer
who
is
a
part
of
the
American
system
which
gets
things
more
complicated."
Demeaning
America
and
the
Americans
"Kabir
Khan
can
say
that
New
York
is
not
about
demeaning
America
because
he
has
to
sell
his
film,
he
has
to
also
bring
in
the
audience
which
is
American
and
may
be
he
is
in
a
process
of
pleasing
them
as
well.
But
when
you
make
a
film
on
certain
issues,
you
have
to
take
a
stand.
If
you
don't
take
a
stand,
it's
a
failure."
American
system
"The
film
is
based
on
how
America
propagated
and
accelerated
the
psyche
of
hate
because
when
the
centre
of
the
society
is
money
and
the
system
is
based
on
selling
things,
then
there
is
no
morality
and
concern,
whether
it's
fear
or
threat.
And
in
doing
that,
you
create
your
threat
and
enemies.
Americans
still
haven't
understood
that
consumerism
will
eat
up
democracy
and
I
hope
Obama
throws
some
light
on
it."
Research
"If
the
story
and
your
role
does
not
give
you
any
scope,
you
don't
need
to
do
research
on
it.
I'm
not
saying
that
New
York
wasn't
worth
for
a
research.
Kabir
Khan
had
already
got
things
into
place.
But
a
film
like
Pan
Singh
Tomar
gives
me
a
lot
of
scope
for
research
as
it
is
a
true
life
story.
New
York
is
based
on
a
true
life
incident.
There
is
a
lot
of
difference
when
it
comes
to
both
the
films
in
terms
of
research."
Kabir
Khan
"Making
so
many
documentaries
has
given
him
a
lot
of
experience.
He
is
a
person
who
wanted
to
make
a
film
like
New
York
for
Yash
Raj
and
that's
pretty
strange,
if
you
see
the
track
record
of
YRF.
Kabir
has
handled
so
many
subjects
as
a
documentary
filmmaker
that
he
is
now
technically
sound.
To
make
a
documentary
is
a
challenge
because
you
have
to
shoot
in
all
sorts
of
conditions
and
thus
the
shoot
of
New
York
for
Kabir
was
like
making
yet
another
documentary
as
a
feature
film."
FBI
officer
"I
play
an
FBI
officer
who
is
trying
to
deal
with
the
problem
post
9/11
and
not
try
and
solve
it.
He
is
also
giving
a
sense
of
hope
for
future.
He
doesn't
want
to
dwell
into
what
America
has
done.
He
thinks
that
Americans
should
be
sorry
for
what
they've
done
but
at
the
same
time
questions
-
'What
is
the
American
future?
Do
you
want
to
keep
killing
each
other?'
Another
interesting
thing
about
the
role
I
play
is
that
he
can
objectively
see
the
system
he
is
working
for
and
the
Muslim
community
from
where
he
comes
from.
He
can
view
both
these
aspects
objectively
and
may
be
that
gives
him
that
little
more
edge
in
trying
to
deal
with
a
much
bigger
problem."
Peoples
psyche
"Yes,
Slumdog
Millionaire
is
a
hit
around
the
world.
But
if
you
say
that
New
York
will
work
because
I
was
a
part
of
the
Oscar
winning
film
and
it
will
attract
the
West,
I
don't
think
so.
Actors
cannot
make
it
a
hit,
and
if
they
did,
then
Benjamin
Button
would've
been
a
bigger
hit
than
Slumdog
Millionaire.
Benjamin
Button
is
seen
because
there
is
Brad
Pitt
in
it.
Milk
is
seen
because
it
has
Sean
Penn.
I
wouldn't
have
seen
it
if
it
was
for
any
other
actor.
Slumdog
Millionaire
was
seen
because
it
was
directed
by
Danny
Boyle
who
was
already
a
big
name
in
the
West.
The
tough
part
for
the
actors
is
to
be
a
part
of
people's
psyche
and
once
they
become
a
part
of
it,
the
audience
buys
the
ticket.
South
Indian
films
don't
work
in
Mumbai
but
Hollywood
does.
Now
you
know
why."
Irrfan
Khan
-
the
detainee
"I
didn't
face
any
problem
being
a
Muslim
actor
for
New
York
but
I
was
detained
when
I
went
for
my
Independent
Spirit
Award
for
Namesake.
It
demoralises
you.
You
are
not
told
anything.
They
ask
you
to
come
into
the
room,
you
are
not
allowed
to
talk
on
the
phone
and
they
don't
even
tell
you
how
much
time
the
interrogation
procedure
would
take.
Back
then,
I
told
the
officer
not
to
waste
my
time
and
his,
just
because
I
am
a
Muslim
actor.
He
even
went
on
to
say,
'Are
you
threatening
me?'
Mira
Nair,
the
director
of
Namesake
told
me
not
to
get
into
that
but
I
was
angry
and
reacted
to
it.
It
is
a
truth
that
the
Western
officers
get
paranoid
by
seeing
a
Muslim
name."
Pan
Singh
Tomar
"My
intention
is
not
to
look
like
Pan
Singh
Tomar
because
it's
a
real
life
story.
That
doesn't
interest
me.
The
idea
was
that
he
was
a
talented
person
and
how
the
system
misused
that
talent
grips
me
more
to
do
a
film
like
Pan
Singh
Tomar.
So
when
you
know
that
this
is
the
person
who
lived
on
this
planet
and
he
went
through
these
circumstances,
it
really
does
something
to
you.
When
we
did
research
on
Pan
Singh
Tomar,
we
got
hundreds
of
stories.
We
could've
made
a
good
commercial
film
out
of
it
if
we
used
all
of
them,
but
we
cannot
do
that
because
then
we
are
not
doing
justice
to
him
as
a
person.
I
remember
we
were
shooting
in
some
house
which
the
director
chose
as
Pan
Singh
Tomar's
house.
But
then
we
were
told
that
Pan
Singh
did
stay
in
the
same
house
that
we
were
shooting
in.
That
struck
us
like
lightning
and
you
get
even
more
inspired
by
this
personality."
Hissss
"Such
stories
have
been
dealt
in
the
past
but
the
way
Jennifer
Lynch
has
given
the
treatment
to
Hissss
is
worth
watching.
I
never
told
my
PR
to
let
Jennifer
know
that
I've
worked
in
The
Mighty
Heart
or
Namesake.
It's
my
work
which
is
doing
the
talking
more
than
my
personal
PR.
I
am
here
in
this
field
to
please
my
ego.
Jennifer
was
touched
by
Namesake
and
I
am
thrilled
and
happy
that
she
did.
Hissss
is
mysterious,
dangerous,
and
sensuous
and
the
young
American
audiences
looking
for
blood,
gore
and
violence
will
love
Hisss.
Luckily,
Jennifer
did
not
allow
Mallika
to
bite
me.
For
Sherawat,
it's
her
lifetime
role
because
she
has
to
look
sexy,
dangerous
and
still
not
speak
anything
in
the
film."