Irrfan
This has to be written... for myself... after years to read and remember.... and for someone who might just stumble upon this... to feel how Irrfan was loved by other people... in the same vein.
The year was 1996... much before the TV channels got hijacked by the Saas Bahu dramas.
Just a few years back satellite television had entered India and new channels were mushrooming up here and there.... It felt as if suddenly there were more slots then the content itself..... in that era, to deal with that chaos of availability, many new inexperienced faces cropped up who were ready to make content the way they wanted !!!
Alongwith the experimental ones (the great ones and the usual bad ones), the staple television diet consisted of some ongoing popular shows. One such show was called "Aur Shamaa Jalti Rahi" (later renamed as Adhikaar).... Sachin Khedekar played the lead and he was a rage in those days as one of those "intellectual" middle class men struggling with relationships both at home and outside... my brother had started watching it... we both loved Sachin Khedekar... but in this particular "serial", he was enamored by Irrfan, who played supporting role, and kept telling me this guy is a genius.... Irrfan had a knack of telling each of his lines in a way that captivated you.... Since the show was directed by Lekh Tandon and penned by Revati Sharma it had to have good lines but when it came to Irrfan, he made even the simplest of lines into great quips.. One thing I remember from Adhikaar was the restlessness in him in every scene..... Anywho, to be honest... I was not as big a fan of his as my brother....
Then came Star Bestsellers... and Irrfan featured in some of those episodes..... I remember one such episode where-in he played someone who kept impersonating with different identities to help others in need and loved it.... I guess it was time for me to be enamored by him.... after that, whatever he appeared in, I watched.
and then came Maqbool... while the movie had Naseer, Om Puri, Tabbu, Pankaj Kapoor (and ofcourse he does steal the movie), what stayed with me (and still does) were Irrfan's eyes..... the constant guilt in them, the pathos....(and again that restlessness)
and every other movie he acted in, and no matter what role he played, the way he emoted felt it was you or one of your own who was playing it.... I remember "Mumbai Meri Jaan" in which he played a small part of vendor who keeps making false bomb calls... I rooted for him and his story remains till this day with me....
My brother started watching Adhikaar once again a month back... and after finishing it... he again started watching it for Irrfan... he got the news of his death a few episodes into it.... he complains due to the loud background music he cant always hear the dialogs well especially the ones that Irrfan utters.... and in a way, he's right.... the background noise probably is too much for us to hear Irrfan, ever again. or may be... .just may be... My brother is stuck in 90s where in Irrfan was so pure, unadulterated and only a few like my brother knew him, and I know my brother to be greedy !
... and as for Irrfan, I dont think he will rest in peace.... his restlessness will get better of him !! Hope it does !!!
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The year was 1996... much before the TV channels got hijacked by the Saas Bahu dramas.
Just a few years back satellite television had entered India and new channels were mushrooming up here and there.... It felt as if suddenly there were more slots then the content itself..... in that era, to deal with that chaos of availability, many new inexperienced faces cropped up who were ready to make content the way they wanted !!!
Alongwith the experimental ones (the great ones and the usual bad ones), the staple television diet consisted of some ongoing popular shows. One such show was called "Aur Shamaa Jalti Rahi" (later renamed as Adhikaar).... Sachin Khedekar played the lead and he was a rage in those days as one of those "intellectual" middle class men struggling with relationships both at home and outside... my brother had started watching it... we both loved Sachin Khedekar... but in this particular "serial", he was enamored by Irrfan, who played supporting role, and kept telling me this guy is a genius.... Irrfan had a knack of telling each of his lines in a way that captivated you.... Since the show was directed by Lekh Tandon and penned by Revati Sharma it had to have good lines but when it came to Irrfan, he made even the simplest of lines into great quips.. One thing I remember from Adhikaar was the restlessness in him in every scene..... Anywho, to be honest... I was not as big a fan of his as my brother....
Then came Star Bestsellers... and Irrfan featured in some of those episodes..... I remember one such episode where-in he played someone who kept impersonating with different identities to help others in need and loved it.... I guess it was time for me to be enamored by him.... after that, whatever he appeared in, I watched.
and then came Maqbool... while the movie had Naseer, Om Puri, Tabbu, Pankaj Kapoor (and ofcourse he does steal the movie), what stayed with me (and still does) were Irrfan's eyes..... the constant guilt in them, the pathos....(and again that restlessness)
and every other movie he acted in, and no matter what role he played, the way he emoted felt it was you or one of your own who was playing it.... I remember "Mumbai Meri Jaan" in which he played a small part of vendor who keeps making false bomb calls... I rooted for him and his story remains till this day with me....
My brother started watching Adhikaar once again a month back... and after finishing it... he again started watching it for Irrfan... he got the news of his death a few episodes into it.... he complains due to the loud background music he cant always hear the dialogs well especially the ones that Irrfan utters.... and in a way, he's right.... the background noise probably is too much for us to hear Irrfan, ever again. or may be... .just may be... My brother is stuck in 90s where in Irrfan was so pure, unadulterated and only a few like my brother knew him, and I know my brother to be greedy !
... and as for Irrfan, I dont think he will rest in peace.... his restlessness will get better of him !! Hope it does !!!
