JAZBAA : Recensione

[Blog] Recensione di Jazbaa, pellicola che segna il ritorno dell'unica vera diva del Cinema Hindi, la splendida Aishwarya Rai. Con Irrfan Khan e Shabana Azmi. Diretto da Sanjay Gupta.

Irrfan Khan International

Anno magnifico, il 2015, per Irrfan Khan. Piku ha conseguito un enorme successo di pubblico e critica. Talvar, dopo aver incantato gli spettatori festivalieri di mezzo mondo, al botteghino indiano si sta comportando dignitosamente. Jazbaa, nel bene e nel male, è uno dei film più chiacchierati, osannati e discussi della stagione corrente. Irrfan è sempre Irrfan: solido, elegante, talentuoso, ironico, affascinante. Vi segnalo Irrfan Khan International, intervista concessa dalla star a Divya Unny, pubblicata da Open il 7 ottobre 2015:

'Dressed in a simple black tee and jeans, his energy unfazed by everything that’s buzzing around him. “It’s better to be the spectator than just the subject, isn’t it?” he asks. (...) Even as an interviewee he knows how to hold your attention. His eyes (...) tell you what his words don’t. He flashes a faint smile every time he reads between your questions. He barely uses his hands, much like the way he plays most of his parts. (...) With Piku, Jurassic World and now Talvar, 2015 is his year by every rule of the book. Rules, he loves to challenge with the parts he plays. “I don’t know if I can call it a breakthrough year, but I’m fortunate that all the good films are coming one after the other. The audiences are asking to be engaged mentally, emotionally, intellectually. Hell, they are asking us to engage them with time pass, but the good thing is at least they are thinking,” he says.

It’s been one of Khan’s strongest traits as an actor. He never underestimates his audience. No matter how mindful or mindless a film he’s part of, he always finds a direct connect with those watching him. Be it through a simple throwback of the head, or by adjusting his reading glasses, or pausing a few seconds before responding to a question, he always manages to steal a moment with the viewer - even before he communicates with his co-actor. He lets them in before letting himself out, and with precision as sharp as his gaze. This is perhaps why he finds a story to tell even with characters that may be drawn out in just a few lines on paper. “My character Rana in Piku is just one of the many parts Shoojit [Sircar] had written in this world that was so real. Honestly, there was little about Rana that could be fleshed out in the context of the story because it wasn’t about him. But then, how do you play a part like that with conviction? Just by surrendering yourself to that space. You cannot imagine the things you will discover once you make yourself believe that you are truly part of that world,” he says.

It’s a philosophy that never let him define his range as an actor in the three decades that he has been performing. You still cannot predict what Irrfan’s next role might be. He has never made moulds for himself like the ‘superstars’ of the Hindi film industry. He broke all barriers - of age, language and physical attributes - to get his space. (...) Some of Khan’s most lovable parts have him playing characters at least 20 years older than he is. “When I was playing Sunil Sanyal [dalla serie In Treatment], I was really falling short of life experiences to make it convincing. I was playing a widower who’s highly insecure of his surroundings and relationships. I did not have that kind of complexity. But that’s when your experiences, your desire to create something new is tested. You push and prod yourself to a point where you start discovering things about yourself you never knew,” he says. (...)

The journey was tough, to a point that made him want to give it all up. He still remembers being edited out of his first film Salaam Bombay!, an experience that broke his spirit. “I remember sobbing all night when Mira told me that my part was reduced to merely nothing. But it changed something within me. I was prepared for anything after that,” he says. From the very start, he came across as an actor with the intensity only very senior actors like Pankaj Kapur and Naseeruddin Shah possessed. It wasn’t like he was a troubled child, but there was something that was always brewing within him. “I was not an unhappy kid, but I was always craving my mother’s attention. I would do anything to get her affection and I think at some level, acting helped me channelise a lot of those emotions.” (...)

“I remember there was a scene in Maqbool where I watch my newborn from a little window frame in the hospital door. It was the last time I was going to see my child, and at the end of the scene a tear drop trickles down from the glass frame. Now that was not planned, that’s the kind of moment that just happens.” Though his canvas as an actor only expanded from there on, it was these moments of truth he says he strived to achieve with every role. When Ang Lee cast Irrfan in Life of Pi, he said of him, “I was always familiar with Irrfan’s work, so casting him was almost a no-brainer. He’s someone who surprises you every minute with his interpretation of the story and the character. And I discovered that after I watched The Namesake.”

Over the years, he has even been criticised by many for taking up small parts in massive Hollywood films. (...) But for Khan, it was about putting himself out there on sets that were alien to him. “When I do something like The Lunchbox, it’s highly exhausting and even boring because most of my scenes are with a sheet of paper or a dabba full of food. Then when I go and act in a superhero film in Hollywood, it’s a completely opposite experience. Both films shook me out of my comfort zone, asked me to look for new ways to say things, surprise myself. (...) It makes me happy when people outside India recognise my work, because at some level I am also able to change their idea about our cinema. Our stories are getting more real, our audience is changing and the world should know about it.”

Ask him if it’s extra pressure having to represent the country as an actor in places like film festivals at Cannes and Florence, and he says, “As an actor, the kind of emotion I create in a scene is relatable because I don’t rely on false perceptions. Similarly I don’t put up a face when I go abroad. It’s the one thing I strived for during my learning days. To find my truth. Even today when I stand on the podium with five other stalwarts, who I look up to, I try to remain true to myself and I guess that’s what they appreciate,” he says. He says he doesn’t change his approach when he works with a Ron Howard or a Tom Hanks because he believes he doesn’t need to. “Their world is different, but they hire me for what I bring to them, and if that changes I will cease to be myself.”

Among his biggest challenges as an actor is to keep his opinion and his craft separate. “Talvar was the kind of script that changed many of my opinions that were formed without full knowledge. We are quick to judge and succumb to hyped reality. As an actor I think it is important to be able to not fall prey to that, especially with a script inspired by reality.” That he has now mastered his craft is something everyone agrees on, except he himself. “I have moments of panic even today. There’s nothing known as mastery. You give people something they can take from, something aspirational, something inspiring, and that doesn’t always come methodically. You have to rely on instinct,” he adds.

Years ago his only dream was to present his mother with a bagful of money. Today things have changed. “Today I have changed, my mother has changed and so have my dreams. She will now ask me to keep the bag of money aside and spend some more time with her. Even now she may rebut me for something I would do, and I will still strive to gain her attention. That’s not the actor within, that’s just me.” We ask him if “Irrfan Khan can really do anything”, (...) and all he does is let out a silent smile. “I don’t want to be able to do everything. I want to create something, break it, create and then break some more. Why look at mastering anything? Life is perishable. You will anyway become a story in some time. So why not become a great one?” he asks'.

Le prime del 9 ottobre 2015: Jazbaa

Per milioni di fan in tutto il mondo l'attesa è durata cinque lunghi anni. La Diva torna finalmente sul grande schermo, e col botto, con Jazbaa, il nuovo film di Sanjay Gupta. Aishwarya Rai è la protagonista di questo thriller al femminile dai risvolti drammatici e ricco di scene d'azione, remake hindi della pellicola sudcoreana del 2007 Se-Beun De-I-Jeu (titolo internazionale Seven Days). Ad affiancarla il mitico Irrfan Khan (occhio alla salivazione). Vi propongo il video di Bollywood Hungama della presentazione del trailer, evento a cui hanno partecipato il regista, Aishwarya e Irrfan. Non contenta, vi offro anche i video dei brani Bandeyaa, Kahaaniya, Aaj Raat Ka Scene e Jaane Tere Shehar, inclusi nella colonna sonora. Nulla da eccepire: Ash è in ottima forma!

Le prime del 2 ottobre 2015: Talvar

Presentato in prima mondiale al Toronto International Film Festival 2015, Talvar è diretto da Meghna Gulzar, figlia del celebre regista, poeta e paroliere Gulzar. Nel cast Irrfan Khan e Konkona Sen Sharma. Vishal Bhardwaj firma la sceneggiatura e la colonna sonora, oltre a collaborare alla produzione. La trama si ispira ad un fatto di cronaca realmente accaduto nel 2008, il duplice assassinio di una ragazzina di nome Aarushi e di un domestico. I genitori della ragazzina, due dentisti, furono arrestati con l'accusa di omicidio. In Talvar la storia viene narrata da tre differenti punti di vista, compreso quello dei genitori di Aarushi. Trailer. Curiosità: lo scorso gennaio era stata distribuita un'altra pellicola sull'argomento, Rahasya, diretta da Manish Gupta e interpretata da Kay Kay Menon.

Vedi anche Toronto International Film Festival 2015

Qissa, The Tale of a Lonely Ghost : Recensione

[Blog] Recensione di Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost, bellissimo film di Anup Singh con Irrfan Khan, Tillotama Shome, Tisca Chopra e Rasika Dugal. Film che ha aperto la retrospettiva dedicata ad Irrfan Khan nell'edizione del River To River FIFF appena conclusa.

Irrfan Khan ospite d'onore del River to River

[Blog]  Irrfan Khan ospite d'onore della 14a edizione del River to River ha partecipato alla manifestazione per ben tre giorni, il 6 dicembre per la conferenza stampa e l’apertura del festival, il 7 dicembre per la premiere italiana di Qissa seguita dall’incontro con il pubblico in presenza anche del regista Anup Singh, e l’8 dicembre per la prima proiezione in Italia di Paan Singh Tomar, capolavoro di Tigamanshu Dhulia.  L’attore, elegante e casual, fin dal primo giorno ha incantato tutti con l’intensità del suo sguardo e con la sua presenza.

Sul palco del Cinema Odeon, il 7 dicembre, prima che venisse proiettata la prima pellicola della sua retrospettiva  il sindaco di Firenze Dario Nardella ha onorato Irrfan Khan consegnandogli le chiavi della città.

Le prime del 16 maggio 2014: The Xposé

Himesh Reshammiya, compositore e cantante di successo, riprova a dar lustro alla sua carriera d'attore, sinora meno fortunata. Giusto per non lasciare nulla al caso, coinvolge in quest'avventura un mostro sacro come Irrfan Khan (#respect) e la popstar indiana più famosa, Yo Yo Honey Singh (#respect), al suo debutto sul set di una pellicola bollywoodiana. Li affianca il bravo Adil Hussain. Bizzarro progetto quello del film The Xposé, la cui storia è ambientata nel mondo del cinema hindi degli anni sessanta. Il trailer lo definisce the biggest vintage musical thriller. Dirige Anant Mahadevan, regista di Red alert - The war within e soprattutto di Mee Sindhutai Sapkal, opera in lingua marathi pluripremiata ai National Award. Ovviamente la colonna sonora è composta ed interpretata da Himesh, che, non contento, firma pure il soggetto e collabora alla stesura della sceneggiatura. E il nostro Yo Yo? Interpreta diversi brani, fra cui il magnifico Ice Cream Khaungi, sublimato da una visualizzazione superpatinata (me ne sono innamorata, ve lo dico, e potrei ascoltarlo all'infinito), Hai Apna Dil Toh Awaara e Surroor. Magari The Xposé è il flop dei flop dell'anno. Magari una deliziosa sorpresa. Chissà. In attesa di accertarlo, godiamoci il sound originale e accattivante di Reshammiya in una colonna sonora davvero notevole. Vi propongo anche i video delle canzoni Catch me if you can e Dard Dilo Ke (Reprise) (a cui presta la voce persino Irrfan Khan!).

Irrfan Khan: spot 7 Up

FA-VO-LO-SO !!! Dimenticate l'ingrigito personaggio di The Lunchbox e godetevi uno scatenatissimo, inedito Irrfan Khan nel nuovo spot pubblicitario commissionato da 7 Up. Da vedere rivedere e rivedere. Nel cast anche Raveena Tandon.

Le prime del 14 febbraio 2014: Gunday

Quest'anno Yash Raj Films celebra San Valentino con un singolare gangster movie. Ambientato a Calcutta a partire dagli anni settanta, Gunday vede protagonisti due giovani promesse del cinema indiano: il lanciatissimo Ranveer Singh e Arjun Kapoor. Ad affiancarli Priyanka Chopra, che da una decina di giorni sta incendiando i sogni proibiti dei maschietti grazie all'infuocata coreografia di Asalaam-E-Ishqum (più di un milione di visualizzazioni). Nel cast anche Irrfan Khan. Dirige Ali Abbas Zafar. L'energetica colonna sonora è composta da Sohail Sen. Un ulteriore assaggio nei video dei brani Tune Maari Entriyaan, Saaiyaan, Jiya e Jashn-E-Ishqa. Sito ufficiale e trailer sottotitolato in inglese. La pellicola verrà distribuita anche in versione in lingua bengali.

 

 

The lunchbox in Italia: locandina e trailer

The lunchbox verrà distribuito nelle sale italiane a partire dal 28 novembre 2013, grazie ad Academy Two, col titolo Lunchbox. Vi presento la locandina e il trailer. Lunchbox è in cartellone al Torino Film Festival 2013: il regista Ritesh Batra sarà nel capoluogo piemontese il 25 e il 26 novembre. Ne approfitto per segnalarvi alcuni articoli:

- A need for quietness, Bhumika K., The Hindu, 17 settembre 2013. Intervista rilasciata da Irrfan Khan:

'Why do we get this feeling that subtlety is not something an Indian audience agrees with?

I think market pressure is trying to create that kind of atmosphere. And it’s not just the Indian market. The whole world is on to a speedy roller coaster ride. It’s like the time has come to the end of the cone where everything has speeded up. And this is the struggle or fight to get noticed. That’s what marketing is all about. Getting noticed. So the easiest way is to make more noise. To show things in speed. That’s why there’s a tendency to find a shortcut. An easy way out. Not let the audience think, not let them breathe, that’s why everybody is doing that. But as human beings, we need to breathe, think. We are not machines, we are not designed to register things in a particular way. But even as there’s a pressure to build up speed and make more noise, there’s more need for a quietness, for a subtlety which gives you enough time to taste it.

Are people willing to do that? Most just seem to be in a hurry!

I think it’s a personal choice. Some people want to tell stories the way they want to tell them. The way it comes to them naturally. Sometimes people want to take the easy way out. Or some people really enjoy telling a story that way. Where things are faster, where they want the audience on the edge of the seat. I personally enjoy both these kind of films. But what I really enjoy is that a film should speak to me after I’ve watched it. It shouldn’t be like a one-night stand. Like you come out of the theatre and nothing’s left of the story. I don’t connect to such films. (...)

Karan Johar came on board for The Lunchbox!

I think everybody wants to expand their area. I don’t think Karan Johar will be supporting all kinds of films. He did it because this film has a heart and he could connect with it. It’s like you fall in love with somebody and you want to do anything and everything they want you to do. He really loved the story. He would like to do anything to help it find its feet'. 

- Irrfan: I always missed the mango pickle in my lunchbox, Sonil Dedhia, Rediff, 17 settembre 2013:

'So was it an instant yes in the case of The Lunchbox?

I instantly said yes. The only thing I didn’t like was playing an old character all over again. You really have to make yourself feel like an old man physically as well as mentally and it takes a lot to get out of such a mould. When I played an old man in The Namesake, it was really difficult to get that character out of my system. (...)

Today, if Irrfan is associated with an art-house film it gets attention from the public. Do you think you’ve become a torch-bearer for such cinema?

I don’t understand the term art-house. For me, films are commercial art. If there’s no commerce in the art, then it won’t have any value. A film has to make some profit. Interestingly, the films I have been associated with have somehow ended up becoming the most successful films of that particular director. Whether it’s Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi or Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire or Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Paan Singh Tomar or Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool. Another reason I don’t understand the term art-house is because according to me a film should engage its audience. I do not like boring cinema. Films should be entertaining and engaging. There are two types of films, A - the time pass cinema which I do not like, and B - the films that stay with you even after you’ve left the cinema hall. So if at all there’s credibility attached to my name it’s only because I will do only those films that engage and entertain. (...)

The film was well received at the Cannes Film Festival and got a standing ovation. Apparently, you were teary-eyed with this response.

Yes, that’s because I too was watching the film for the first time. Quite a few people walked out of the theatre mid-way and the director, Ritesh Batra, started wondering is the film that bad? The French producer then revealed that the people walking out of the theatre were all buyers who wanted to queue up to buy the film before anybody else does. This was the first time that an Indian film got sold out worldwide within a day. Studios were lining up to buy the film. We were targeting to give the film either to Fox Studios or Sony for the American market because these two studios rule the business there. But before we could arrange for the screenings, Sony had already bought the film! We realised that the film has universal appeal and will connect with people globally. We also hope that at least this year a right film gets chosen for the Oscars from India'.

- Recensione di Raja Sen, pubblicata il 20 settembre 2013 da Rediff. Sen attribuisce alla pellicola un sonoro *****:

'Ritesh Batra’s film - about a city and serendipity - might be about unremarkable folk, but it is a masterfully made and diligently restrained effort, one that impresses a viewer without impressing upon a viewer. It is a simple story with unanimous appeal, told with unshowy efficacy, and yet The Lunchbox is the most fascinating film to come out of Bombay in a very, very long time. (...) This is a film about happenstance, a wondrous what-if movie that lifts us from realism to something far better, and it’s only fair that - in ways unique to itself - the city conspires, throughout the film, to set these events into motion, to champion this unlikely romance, to give us hope. For Mumbai has always motored along on magic. Irrfan Khan plays Mr. Fernandez with a superb placidity, a clock-obeying government employee who treasures silence. Khan clearly relishes the amount of internalisation the role allows him, and savours the quiet, thoughtful, melancholy beats of the film, unhurried but with his timing immaculate. He delivers his few lines with fantastic ease - a deadpan gag about a blind man stands out - but soaks up the silences even better. (...) Khan is a magnificent actor who keeps getting better, and this is him at his finest. (...) Nimrat Kaur (...) pulls off the role of a wife with a world on her shoulders very impressively. It is a disarmingly natural performance that is impossible to forget and difficult to analyse, and in this limited space one may merely express admiration. (...) She’s excellent. (...) Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays it relentlessly, bearing down on the taciturn Fernandez with irresistibly good-natured oafishness. (...) Batra, who has also written The Lunchbox, has allowed his smashing actors tremendous room to improvise, all the while himself sketching in nuanced details about the city, its food-ferriers, and the many disparities Mumbai is crammed with. It is a film of multiple pleasures - small ones and overwhelming ones and exquisitely crafted ones - layered one on top of the other, with something for everyone, and so, so much for the cinematic glutton'.

Aggiornamento del 23 marzo 2014: nel nostro Paese Lunchbox ha incontrato il favore del pubblico malgrado la fugace programmazione. I numeri del botteghino italiano sono stati diffusi persino in India da Taran Adarsh, noto analista di Bollywood Hungama. The lunchbox si sta rivelando uno dei film indiani di maggior successo commerciale all'estero, soprattutto in Germania e negli Stati Uniti. Vi ricordo che Lunchbox è stato distribuito in Italia in netto anticipo rispetto agli Stati Uniti, e son soddisfazioni. Non è raro leggere qua è là accenni alla pellicola da parte dei (cronicamente disinteressati) media locali. Vi segnalo, fra le tante, la recensione (****) di Alessandro Antinori, pubblicata da Movieplayer il 28 novembre 2013.

Aggiornamento del 3 aprile 2014: il DVD di Lunchbox sarà in distribuzione nei negozi italiani a partire dal prossimo 16 aprile.

Vedi anche:

- Festival di Cannes 2013

- Torino Film Festival 2013, 29 dicembre 2013

Irrfan Khan: I object to the term Bollywood

Irrfan Khan in D-Day

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Irrfan Khan a Nosheen Iqbal, pubblicata ieri da The Guardian. Irrfan Khan: 'I object to the term Bollywood':

'It's a shock (...) when he emerges from the hotel lift, the elevator ping cheesily announcing his megawatt smile. [Irrfan] Khan is (...) good-looking. True, (...) he is head-turningly handsome: tall, lean, raffish, chiselled. (...) The second surprise is that he's funny - in a dry, deadpan way that is all about the delivery. "You're an entertainment writer, then?" he says by way of introductory small talk. "It's culture, really," comes my prissy mumble. "Ah, yes, culture. Hmm. Which isn't entertaining at all, is it?" And we're off. (...) He is here for the season's flagship event: a masterclass at the BFI with Asif Kapadia, the director Khan gratefully credits for saving his career when, in the late 90s, he was considering quitting.

"I came into this industry to tell stories and do cinema and I was stuck in television." Which (...) meant soap operas "chasing middle-class housewives and the [poor and illiterate]. Once, they didn't even pay me because they thought my acting was so bad." Then Kapadia and The Warrior came along and Khan had suddenly bagged an acclaimed feature-film role. And a lead at that. "Asif and I have been longing to work together again since then. I've been watching his last film [Senna]. There was a pirated DVD version in India I could have watched but I thought, 'No, I want to watch it on a proper screen.'" He builds up the importance of really saving it, to appreciate Kapadia's Bafta-winner as intended. "I did eventually see it on a screen. A kind of tiny screen." Where? "Oh, on an airplane." And there's the humour, teasing throughout the edges of our chat.

Khan was born to Muslim parents in the Jaipur village of Tonk. His mother's side has royal lineage and his father's side was well-to-do, but Khan Sr was a self-made man. "He had a tyre shop but, really, he was a hunter." Khan, the eldest of two brothers and one sister, side-stepped the family business when his father died and escaped to drama school. "First, I pursued cricket, then I tried business, but I quickly got bored. Cut, cut, cut to drama school. No one could have imagined I would be an actor, I was so shy. So thin. But the desire was so intense, I thought I'd suffocate if I didn't get admission."

Three decades later and he is no less passionate. (...) Khan morphs on screen. He seems to disappear into the role, his face almost unrecognisable from one picture to the next: getting older and then younger-looking - blandly indistinctive at one turn, with sharp, penetrating features the next. 

Given his reputation for integrity, for being all about the craft (and he talks, at length, in those terms), it almost seems churlish to ask him about vanity and whether he's had work done. Almost. "I've never looked to create an image where people fall in love with my face or style. It does cross my mind. But I've been trying to create a space for myself where I don't depend on that." He is similarly vague about the beauty ideal in Bollywood - where he is arguably boxed into particular roles because the predominant aesthetic of the past two decades has been body buffed, skin-bleached. Even once-darker megastars (...) have endorsed "skin-whitening" products. As a darker, slighter actor, is there pressure to conform to the industry ideal? "I did try to do it but it made me feel empty. I cannot do things which don't come naturally to me. Initially, I did try everything. But you have to stick to your convictions and stand by your plus points. [Going to the gym] is not exciting for me. I want to connect with a story and hit [audiences] in the heart with a different way." It's perhaps this attitude and a distinct lack of baggage - "I don't have an image to protect" - that explains why he (...) has cracked both domestic and international markets. (...)

"I always object to the word Bollywood," he explains. (...) "I don't think it's fair to have that name. Because that industry has its own technique, its own way of making films that has nothing to do with aping Hollywood. It originates in Parsi theatre." So what defines Indian cinema? "Celebration, [we] celebrate everything and Indian cinema is an extension of that, so why did they lose their identity by calling it Bollywood?"

What about the indie Indian cinema scene - the "Hindies"? (...) How do they play at home? "They are doing great! That's why the industry is changing, because those films are bringing in money and they can't ignore it. Everybody's watching them." (...) "I wouldn't call [the Hindie films] arthouse but they do have a more original voice. You still have to entertain [Indian audiences], you cannot make them think. Or, you cannot leave them thinking. If you leave them thinking, you have to give them catharsis." I warn him this could sound grotesquely patronising in print. "But that is the way it is in India, they want an emotional connection. If you see a dark film that disturbs you, India won't take it. If it is tragedy, they will love it. They love to cry. That's for me, also. The first thing I do when I read a script is to find what hits me emotionally. That's what I connect to."

His harshest critics, he says, are his two sons. Not quite teenagers yet, but savvy enough to be telling him "what works and doesn't work for them. There is no bias. And they're my sons." His mother is proud, though he suspects she'd be happier if he gave it all up and became a teacher in his home town, as he once promised. "My mum is a conventional Muslim. Things I have learned from Islam are fantastic and I will carry them all my life but I am more open. I feel healthier that way." All in all, he seems pretty happy with his lot. Content and relaxed in a way that doesn't often come across with actors, no matter how successful. "Yes! I don't know why I get such cynical headlines. They always make me sound like I'm suffering from life. (...) I have lost the temptation for things that come through stardom. One day I'd like to enjoy my life without fame. Now... I enjoy it, you know?".'

Irrfan Khan: I tried being a star but it did not work for me

Vi segnalo una lunga intervista concessa da Irrfan Khan a The Indian Express, pubblicata il 16 giugno 2013. I tried being a star but it did not work for me:

Vidya Prabhu: If there is one film you wish you had not done?

Chocolate. I couldn't watch it. I was only given the first half of the script. The second part I did not get even after the movie was over. (...)

Dipanita Nath: Why is it that unlike in the West actors in Bollywood are seen so rarely in the theatre? Do you miss the stage?

We don't have a culture of theatre. In America, theatre is alive. People are writing plays. Here when we do theatre, we either borrow scripts from abroad or there are few writers who are writing for a particular audience. So theatre movement itself is not so vibrant here. There are a few genuine people like Naseeruddin Shah who are doing theatre and doing it for the right reason. Sometimes, I do miss it but not in a way that I will leave cinema and start doing theatre. (...)

Suanshu Khurana: What were your growing-up years in Rajasthan like?

My father was from a feudal family and my mother was also from a reputed family. But our fortunes were on a downslide. So those were the days when they were trying to make their own identity but also holding on to their values. They looked down upon films, ditto for sports. They only wanted us to focus on studies. I would go to school at 6 am and come home at 6 pm. I would long for the time when this school business would end and I'd grow up and lead my own life. My father was a hunter, so I can never forget those nights when I accompanied him. They have left a strong impression on my mind. Whenever I get time, I look for jungles where I can go see animals at night. It's the most exciting moment for me.

Shiny Varghese: When you are shooting a film over a long period of time, how do you bring rigour into your work?

That's the nature of the profession. When you work with a story and shoot it for 5-6 months, sometimes you do half a scene today and half the scene four months later. In such cases, you learn as an actor, you pick up the skills. You are driven by both passion and skill and when the passion is gone, the skill takes over. But yes, when only the skills are working, then you are dead, the profession is dead to you and there's no fun.

Smita Nair: Are you stubborn as an actor?

Earlier, I used to be. But now I consider it a collaboration. It's more of a discussion and exploration together. It can't be either my way or his way, because then there is no fun making a movie. We both are there to tell a story, and bring our own elements to it. Like in Life of Pi, (director) Ang Lee had a particular design: he told me that for a particular dialogue, I need to turn and say it in a certain way. Very precise. Five years ago, it would have been very difficult for me. But now, I know how to adapt to that design and make it my own. That's also the function of an actor, to make a certain thing your own. (...)

P. Vaidyanathan Iyer: What do you do when you're not working?

When I do have time, I try to go away from the city, to a place where there are no people and just me. I also try to spend time with my kids. I watch documentaries. It takes time for me to get engaged by fiction.

Sagnik Chowdhury: You are an actor who gives a lot of importance to the craft of acting and filmmaking. Do you foresee a time when you would get into filmmaking yourself?

I dabbled in direction once when I was in television, but I did it because at that point, I was bored of acting. But direction doesn't come naturally to me. I'll definitely direct if a story becomes so compelling that I cannot live without sharing it. I wish I could do it. I wish I could write so that I could make films, because this is the best time to tell stories. The audience is ready to listen to stories, so it is the best time for a director. But I'd love to direct and act. Because as an actor, you have to wait for stories and present the other person's point of view'.

India Today Conclave 2013

L'India Today Conclave 2013 si è svolto a Delhi dal 15 al 16 marzo. Il tema dell'edizione di quest'anno era Reinventing Democracy. Fra le celebrità che hanno partecipato all'evento, segnalo Irrfan Khan e Anushka Sharma. Sito ufficiale dell'evento.

Irrfan Khan: Khan rises in the West

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Irrfan Khan a Sudhish Kamath, pubblicata da The Hindu il 2 novembre 2012. Khan rises in the West:

'How are you enjoying your stint with Hollywood?

I have to restrain myself, resist the temptation because I keep getting all kinds of films from Hollywood. Because my survival is not based out of Hollywood. So this is a very privileged position for me. I do films sometimes for survival in India. I choose projects in Hollywood that are challenging... that have something new to offer to me. Whether it is The Namesake or In Treatment... If I have to define In Treatment, it was not TV, it was not theatre, it was not cinema... It was something else. I look for challenges and areas that I haven’t got a chance to explore with Hollywood.

So do you work with a different kind of remuneration with Hollywood to be able to do these roles?

Remuneration is not very lucrative for me. It’s not even one-fourth of what I get in India. Just because you see them making multi-million dollar films, it does not mean they will pay Irrfan Khan millions of dollars. The film business is run in a way that you get paid according to whatever your importance is. (...)

How has your understanding of cinema changed over the years?

When I came into cinema, I was mesmerised by a few actors and when I saw them, I thought they were experiencing something special. That’s what attracted me to films. Initially, it was more about fame. But later it changed. Fame is just an ego-massaging exercise. I’m fortunate to be in this line. I’m in a medium where I can connect with a person who doesn’t understand a single word of the language I speak. But he’s touched by my performance. I become a part of his emotional psyche. And that’s the kind of ability you have as an actor.

So Life Of Pi was one such experience?

No, that was my journey before Life Of Pi. The challenges in Life Of Pi were completely different, something I have never experienced as an actor. The film is dealing with complicated issues. Whoever wants to look at these issues would interpret them in their own way. It will entertain a child who is watching as much as it will entertain an intellectual person. This film will leave you with so many interpretations. And it cannot be achieved unless and until you are aware of it. You have to work towards it. That was the challenge.

What was the biggest take-home for you from Life Of Pi?

Watching Ang. The way he conducts himself, his personality... If you see him, it seems like he has just eliminated all the unnecessary things from his personality... you don’t see a kind of baggage that you would expect from one of the most important directors of our times. The way he’s passionate about his work, the way he is so concerned and very personal. He’s available to everybody and at the same time, also keeps to himself.

What kind of roles are you looking at doing here post Paan Singh Tomar here?

I am getting more or less the same kind of roles. I am looking at films that are different yet have the ability to make money. All things in this world are a product of contradictions. Like art and commerce. Even in life, there are two opposite forces that are colliding all the time in our universe. And something new emerges when they collide.

Are you excited and confident that films such as Paan Singh Tomar are getting recognised today?

I was confident even 10 to 12 years ago when I did Haasil. I knew people wanted to see something different. They wanted films where entertainment would be redefined. The entertainment industry cannot afford to keep repeating a formula. It needs to keep evolving and redefining itself. Am I pushing the boundaries? Is it good for cinema? Is it entertaining and engaging? Is it suited for cinema or better suited for a book or news? Is it smuggling the issues smartly enough without being in your face? These are things I look for when I choose films'.

Irrfan Khan: Everything has come to me late in my life

Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Irrfan Khan a Garima Sharma, pubblicata da The Times of India il 24 ottobre 2012. Everything has come to me late in my life: Irrfan:

'In all honesty, with the international recognition that has come to you post Slumdog Millionaire, there must have been some point when success went to your head?

If success would have come early in life, it would have. But, everything came to me a little late. It’s a pattern with me - things always come late to me. When I was doing TV, I longed to do films. I was even ready to become a henchman. At that time, if I would’ve got the role of a villain, I would’ve wasted my life just playing villains. But, I think destiny is taking care of me, even if it is giving me things later in life, even if it is testing me. I have never been in a situation where success could go to my head.

Has Hollywood impacted your Bollywood prospects?

An actor looks for recognition. And when you do work like this, it creates a perception about you in the audience’s mind. That’s it. But, it gives me a choice to do stories which I would’ve never got here. I would’ve never got those directors and stories to explore here. I don’t want to find a formula for success and keep repeating that. (...)

You don’t get such work in Bollywood?

They don’t ask variety from you. I am just fortunate that I don’t need to, for my bread and butter, depend on Hollywood. For me, it’s a luxury. I choose films, which give me what I am looking for. That’s why I am not living in Hollywood. If I go and stay there, I would be shooting all year long. But I don’t want to do that. For me, as an actor, I need challenges where you can trust your director and take a plunge. It’s exactly like Pi, who has been thrown in this sea with these animals, and he doesn’t even know how to row a boat and he has to find his shore.

How important is Bollywood to you today?

It’s very important because that’s where I earn my living from. This industry is everything to me. When I dreamt of becoming an actor, I thought of being popular in India and not anywhere else.

Cliched as it gets, was the role of Pi the toughest of your career?

Yes. The contract just said they needed 10 days from me. But, you can’t ask them, ‘No, I have to prepare for two months or three months, so you pay me for that’. It was literally only 10 days of work, but it took me so many months of preparation. Ang was also exploring it with me, so initially he told me to find a French-Canadian-Indian accent. I kept trying for months, and it was really torturous, and finally he chose not to use that! But, it was an experience that I learnt a lot from. This is one of my most challenging roles, even though it may not be that much on screen. I did stuff earlier which was mostly for adult audiences. I want to now do films which are for children as well as grown-up audiences. I long to do films, which my children can also watch. Whenever my kids pick up my DVDs, be it The Namesake or Maqbool, they can’t watch those. (...)

It was said that you were unhappy with the way your role turned out in The Amazing Spiderman?

I never said that. Whoever spoke to me, I just said that the director told me what scenes they were eliminating and why they were eliminating, and I had no problem with that. I could understand why they were doing it. They did that even in Slumdog Millionaire, so I had no problem with it. I never said I was unhappy with the role.

After all your preparation, was it easy to understand your director Ang Lee’s vision?

What’s special about Ang is that when he dreams a film, it tries to go deep and find something from it. Relentlessly, he is trying to create something new in his project, to find some relevance in today’s time, and that’s what I call brave. He is a brave person. It’s like there is a playground he is exploring, which he is not very familiar with, but he will take the plunge. When you work with him, you feel like he is trying to pull out something new, something unexplored from the ground, something which people in today’s time can relate to. And yet, with this kind of a story, which is only about an Indian family, he retains all the complexities, and yet tries to give it an international connect. As far as vision goes, it cannot be a like a picture which I show to you and you can understand. He brought his world, I brought mine, I tried to relate to what he was saying and then I poured my entire being into the film. That’s where dynamism comes. That’s what Hollywood understands'.

International Film Festival of India 2012

La 43esima edizione dell'International Film Festival of India si svolgerà a Goa dal 20 al 30 novembre 2012. Il titolo di apertura è Life of Pi di Ang Lee. Nel cast Irrfan Khan, nel ruolo di Pi adulto e quindi del narratore, Tabu e Adil Hussain. Una curiosità: Ayan Khan, il figlio di Irrfan, in Life of Pi interpreta il fratellino di Pi. La pellicola verrà distribuita nelle sale del nostro Paese il 20 dicembre 2012 col titolo Vita di Pi. Trailer in italiano. Vi segnalo l'intervista concessa da Ang Lee a Karan Johar, pubblicata da Hindustan Times il 4 novembre 2012. Karan Johar interviews Ang Lee:

'Karan: Irrfan and Tabu are established names. Was it interesting to work with them?

Ang: Yes. They have so much respect from me. They are not the ones who said ‘yes’ to everything I said. They always made sure that what they were asked to do was okay. So I told them that it’s India, so you have to let me know. They are established actors. That’s why I don’t have anything to worry about. My main anxiety is that the reading is almost like a fable. I have worked on that story for the film and the script has been romanticised in the end. Since India is not home for me, my main anxiety is how people will receive the movie here. Will they raise their eyebrows or will they adore it? I don’t know'. 

Vedi anche:

- Irrfan Khan: Everything has come to me late in my life

- Irrfan Khan: Khan rises in the West

Irrfan Khan, Tabu e Ang Lee

Paan Singh Tomar: Recensione

[Blog] Recensione di Paan Singh Tomar (2012), film che si è candidato a diventare uno dei più importanti dell'anno. Diretto da Tigmanshu Dhulia, con Irrfan Khan e Mahi Gill.

Marc Webb: Irrfan Khan has a very commanding presence

Irrfan Khan in The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man verrà distribuito nelle sale indiane il 29 giugno 2012, una settimana prima rispetto agli Stati Uniti. Vi segnalo l'articolo Irrfan has a very commanding presence: ‘Spider-Man’ director, pubblicato oggi da The Indian Express, che raccoglie alcune dichiarazioni di Marc Webb: 'I have been an enormous fan of Irrfan for a very long time. I first saw him in The namesake, The warrior and in TV series In treatment. For Dr. Ratha, I needed someone who projected sophistication, had lot of strength and a very commanding presence and Irrfan fit that bill. He is in the first half of the film and in several scenes. (...) I would not call his character a good guy or the bad guy, I would say he has a job to do and he has started about doing it. (...) Dr. Ratha works in Oscorp, the company owned by previous villain Norman Osborn. Irrfan plays the boss of Dr. Curt Conner. He plays an important role in Conner's transformation as villain 'The Lizard'. Irrfan provides the pressure'.

Il 12 marzo 2012 Renuka Vyavahare aveva riportato altre dichiarazioni sull'argomento rilasciate da Webb, pubblicate da The Times of India. Irrfan Khan has wonderful abilities: Mark Webb: 'Irrfan's importance in Hollywood is an interesting thing. A lot of directors are really starting to take notice of him and are looking for roles for Irrfan because he's got such a wonderful reputation. There’s a show he did here [in the US] called “In Treatment” and you really got to see his wonderful abilities. Whether its Danny Boyle or Ang Lee, really very strong directors are starting to take notice of this star who comes from a land that some view as exotic and far away from us. But you realize with actors like Irrfan, how close they really are. (...) Irrfan, it’s good to see you again. I hope you’re doing well and my best to you and your family”.'

Irrfan Khan in un film di Marco Amenta?

Irrfan Khan interpreterà un film tratto dal saggio Il banchiere dei poveri di Muhammad Yunus, premio Nobel per la pace nel 2006. La pellicola, diretta dal regista Marco Amenta, è una coproduzione fra Italia (Eurofilm), Francia, Germania e India. La sceneggiatura è redatta da Massimo Gaudioso, Sergio Donati e Marco Amenta. Vi segnalo l'articolo Irrfan turns nobel laureate for next film, di Subhash K. Jha, pubblicato oggi da The Times of India: 'Apparently, the makers of the film zeroed in on Irrfan as the real-life hero of the downtrodden after they saw him play (...) in Mira Nair’s The Namesake. Irrfan confirmed the news and said, "I have been in talks for that film for a long time. I have already given my consent." However, he did not divulge any further details for contractual reasons. A friend of the actor said, "The challenge here is to recreate a living character of such distinguished achievement. Irrfan will meet Muhammad Yunus and spend as much time with him as possible. When he played Paan Singh Tomar, he relied on his imagination. But playing Prof. Yunus is a far bigger challenge since he is a much revered living personality. Irrfan will take a few months to get into the character".' Conoscete un modo migliore per rallegrare un piovoso lunedì?

Aggiornamento del 14 giugno 2012: ho contattato l'Eurofilm via email. Niccolò Stazzi conferma la notizia: 'Il film è in fase di pre-produzione. Il regista sarà Marco Amenta e gli sceneggiatori sono Massimo Gaudioso e Sergio Donati. Lo script ha vinto un premio al Tribeca Film Festival. Maggiori dettegli potrò darglieli tra circa un mese'.

Aggiornamento del 10 maggio 2022: purtroppo il progetto non si è concretizzato.

Shah Rukh Khan a Yale

1.600 persone hanno assistito all'incontro con Shah Rukh Khan organizzato ieri dall'università di Yale. L'attore ha interagito con gli studenti, ha accennato qualche passo di danza coinvolgendo anche i docenti, e sembra aver dimenticato la sgradevole avventura del nuovo fermo in un aeroporto americano (la superstar è stata bloccata dalle autorità per accertamenti, e rilasciata dopo un paio d'ore, grazie all'intervento dei responsabili di Yale). A proposito di quest'ultimo episodio, il Re ha spiritosamente commentato: 'Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kicked the star out of stardom. They (immigration officials) always ask me how tall I am and I always lie and say 5 feet 10 inches. Next time I am going to get more adventurous. (If they ask me) What colour are you, I am going to say white'. Video e photo gallery della conferenza. 

Aggiornamento del 14 aprile 2012: Shah Rukh Khan questioned at US airport again, Chidanand Rajghatta, Indrani Bagchi, Bharati Dubey, The Times of India. Nell'articolo si ricorda che l'attore era già stato fermato in aeroporto nel 2009, e che la stessa sorte è toccata in passato a Kabir Khan, Sajid Khan, Irrfan Khan, e persino ad Abdul Kalam (ex presidente dell'Unione Indiana), per non parlare di Ted Kennedy. Irrfan ha dichiarato: 'America is the most advanced country in the world. Do they really have such a flawed security system that the name of a person keeps popping each time he lands at the airport? I have been detained at US airports not just once but at least four times and for two to three hours. One cannot even make a phone call to the studio, though they have a car waiting outside the airport to pick you up'.