Unconventional and shorn of glitz, Irrfan Khan exclusively tells tabloid! why he follows his heart but is always surprised by the results.Indian actor Irrfan Khan may have aced his recent series of trigger-happy tough cop roles on the big screen, but over the telephone recently, he sounded more like a reticent prisoner being held against his will. Stubborn and self-effacing, Khan shares few of the ego-centric qualities found in other Bollywood actors.
For example: while most other stars would have instantly mentioned a nomination in GQ magazine's Men Of The Year Awards, it took more than 15 minutes for Khan to casually drop it into the conversation.
"I just got the mail. I am ecstatic," he said haltingly. Prod him some more and he adds: "It's reassuring to know that even if you do your own thing, people still accept you."
True to his words, Khan has often been caught doing his own thing. His unconventional take on Shiney Ahuja's rape case, where he urged Indians to address the issue of marital rape, was ample proof. Moreover, the Slumdog Millionaire actor rarely courts the media and has never openly talked about his prestigious Hollywood projects such as A Mighty Heart (the Daniel Pearl kidnapping saga, featuring Angelina Jolie) or The Namesake (director Mira Nair's award winning cross-cultural drama).
"I am not much into PR and I can't do things which don't come naturally to me," he said.
"You will never see me dancing around some trees like a hero. I don't have that kind of energy to do fluffy films."
A recent release, Billu, saw Khan as a simpleton barber trying hard to make ends meet. Shorn of the glitz that normally decorates a Bollywood musical, it took another Khan - Shah Rukh - to dial up the glamour quotient.
"I am not in that league and I have never claimed to be. I have consciously kept a low profile.
"At times, I have not attended events or parties because it meant I had to alter my shooting schedule. I cannot afford to take such liberties and I don't enjoy that kind of freedom."
The result? He decided to give the Dubai International Film Festival, in which Slumdog Millionaire was heavily promoted, a miss. He played a nasty cop in the Oscar-winning drama.
"I had already assigned my dates to a shooting schedule. If I were in Dubai then, it meant the entire unit would be sitting idle. It may have cost the producers heavily."
A filmmaker's delight, Khan is a performer who made it big without the help of any well-connected industry insiders or benevolent Bollywood godfathers. Starting off on the small screen in 1988, it took him several years to penetrate the commercial Bollywood cinema.
"It wasn't easy. But I have taken things very slowly and concentrated on giving 100 per cent in the offers that came my way. It took a lot of effort and luck."
In his struggling days, he was met with a few disappointments. His role in Nair's Salaam Bombay (1988) was chopped at the editing table. But the Vanity Fair filmmaker more than made up for it. Nearly two decades later, Khan was offered the role of an immigrant patriarch wrecked by a cultural identity crisis in The Namesake.
"During the shooting of the film, I was always comparing the film to Mira's earlier film Monsoon Wedding. I was doubtful about the way she was treating this one [The Namesake]. It was a mistake because I realised you cannot compare two creations. And frankly, its success was surprising."
The movie won Khan his first nomination at the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards in the Best Supporting (Male) category. But he had no such reservations about his recent hit, Slumdog Millionaire.
"I knew it would be a very interesting film, because Danny Boyle had a clear idea about what he wanted. He knew Slumdog had to be engaging and entertaining. Even here, I was surprised to see the degree of its success."
Like every other actor in the film who has struck gold, Khan is also reaping rich dividends. He's been receiving feelers from a string of international filmmakers. "It's not so bad. I have received an offer from an Iranian director and a famous German producer. I don't want to talk about it, because it is a recession now. Things are taking longer to materialise."
So is it the recession that led to Khan playing a cop once again, in his latest release, New York? Of late, Khan has become a pro at playing the bad cop.
"In New York, I am playing the role of a Muslim FBI agent working in a post-9/11 America. It has some interesting shades. But like you said, it's a matter of spacing out the roles. In my next film, you will see me playing a runner - a sportsman."
The film he is referring to is Paan Singh Tomar, based on the real life of a sports star who turns anti-establishment. But the role seems to have cost him dearly. Khan was sporting a knee injury when tabloid! tracked him down.
"I was injured while shooting for the film. I have been advised rest and have been sitting idle.
"So that's why we are doing this [interview]."