It’s a good time for Indian actors: Irrfan Khan

Irrfan Khan is back from the premiere of his latest film Inferno in Florence, and he is stillon cloud nine. The movie preview was held at an opera theatre, the Opera di Firenze in Florence. He says, “It was unlike any premiere I had attended. The venue was straight out of a dream. The entire cast attended the screening and answered the questions from media persons from all over the world.”

Irrfan was delighted at how minutely the journalists gathered at the posh opera theatre had watched the film. “They asked intricate literary questions about the film from all of us. They wanted to discuss the film’s connection with Dante’s Inferno. No one asked me about Indian politics.”

The eminently international Irrfan is back in India for just a few days until Inferno releases today. His return is an impromptu move, after his producers decided to release the film two weeks before its worldwide release. Irrfan has plenty of reason to be flattered. The producers decided to reschedule their film’s release in India to cash in on Irrfan’s presence in the cast. He says, “Actually I’m supposed to be in the US for some important meetings. They wanted me to be the face of the film in India. I gladly and humbly accepted the honour, and here I am.” He adds, “I had to cancel them and get back home when my producers of Inferno, in all their wisdom, decided to release our film in India two weeks in advance. That sort of threw me off gear, in a good way,” laughs Irrfan.

Tom Hanks, Irrfan’s co-star in the movie, recently was quoted as saying, “I thought I was the coolest guy in the room until Irrfan walked in.” Irrfan laughs it off as his great co-star’s magnanimity. He says, “Just being around Tom Hanks is so enriching for me. He’s a very generous co-star, colleague and I can comfortably say we’re friends. Inferno has a truly global cast — it gave me a chance to get to know actors from all across the world. Personally, the biggest advantage of working abroad is the exposure I get to international talent.”

Irrfan says this is a good time for Indian cinema, and that it won’t be long before Indian actors will increasingly take up work internationally. He says, “I can say with full authority that this is a great time to be an Indian actor. Our cinema is being recognised and acknowledged globally. Very soon Indian actors will be able to make their presence felt in every corner of the world. It’s just a matter of time.”

Irrfan is proud to say that the roles being offered to him from abroad are being modified to suit his personality. “In Inferno, the nationality of my character was changed. Previously, in the HBO series In Treatment, my character was converted into an Indian when I was offered the part. It’s gratifying when an Indian actor is given recognition on a global platform.”