Irrfan still bitter about Oscar snub for Lunchbox

Irrfan’s career boasts of several distinguished performances in Indian as well as Hollywood productions. But the most striking thing about the National Award winner’s oeuvre is the element of surprise his work always throws up.

A modest Irrfan brushes off the observation and says he is just doing his job. "Everyone is working and I am not doing anything unusual," he says.

Even as his latest release, The Lunchbox , continues winning critical acclaim and commercial gains, the perfectionist has moved on to his next big role, that of a hardcore Punjabi man in Kissa Hai that is due for release next year.

To master the nuances of the language, Irrfan has hired a personal tutor. He says if a script interests him, he can go to any extent to prepare for his role.


"My priority in any film is an engaging story. Even if there is a lot of masala content, I am ready to do it, provided the story interests me. I feel that the masala kind of cinema also needs a kind of creativity," he explains.

Besides Kissa Hai , Irrfan has many other interesting releases lined up, including Gunday , in which he plays an interesting character. But the project fans would be most curious about is the remake of the cult classic Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron that will see Irrfan reprise the role of the late Ravi Baswani alongside original cast- member Naseeruddin Shah.

Moving on to other topics, we ask Irrfan about the Gujarati film The Good Road beating The Lunchbox to become India’s official entry to the Oscars. The actor is still a little bitter about the decision. " One should ask the jury members why they selected The Good Road . One should ask them what was so great about that film," he says.

The unconventional superstar is also averse to the idea of the ` 100- crore tag being the sole benchmark for a movie’s success. " If Life Of Pi is a creative film, it has also done phenomenal commercial business of over Rs.4,000 crore worldwide.

The approach different film- makers take can be diverse. Some only want creativity while others only want monetary success," he points out, " But business doesn’t really depend on creativity or the lack of it in cinema."