Tigmanshu Dhulia Says Irrfan Khan Believed His Haasil Character 'Will Be Remembered Like Gabbar Singh'

Over the weekend, director Tigmanshu Dhulia revealed a special anecdote about late actor Irrfan Khan. He revealed that the actor believed his character in Haasil would be "remembered like Gabbar Singh". On the occasion of the film completing 18 years, Tigmanshu opened up about Irrfan's contribution.

Haasil is Irrfan's first film that got him major recognition as an actor. Remembering Irrfan, Tigmanshu wrote on Twitter, "Haasil...16th of May the film did wonders for us I remember doing the background score and Irrfan dropped in, we were working on the climax, he saw it and said this villain will be remembered like Gabbar Singh...well the villain was unlike Gabbar but yes Irrfan will always be remembered."

Notably, Amjad Khan's character Gabbar Singh in Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra's iconic film Sholay is one of the most iconic villains in Hindi films.

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For the unversed, Irrfan passed away on April 29, 2020. The actor died after a two-year-long battle with neuroendocrine tumour. This is not the first time Tigmanshu has talked about Irrfan's portrayal in Haasil. Back in 2020, the filmmaker said that Irrfan should have bagged the National Film Award. However, it was a missed opportunity as the filmmaker's fight with the producer led to some issues.

He had said, "He did not get the National Award because I had a fight with the producer. So out of revenge, he (producer) did not send it (Haasil) for the National Awards, which was a huge blow. I'm sure Irrfan would have got it in 2004." He had also revealed that Irrfan had been a part of the film since its inception in Dhulia's mind.

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Dhulia added, "He (Irrfan) had faith in the film. When he saw the first cut, he said this character is not going to die soon. Which was so true." Irrfan played Ranvijay Singh, a student leader in Haasil. After the film's difficult release, Irrfan was honoured with the Filmfare award for his portrayal of Ranvijay Singh.