Late actor Irrfan Khan, who stepped into the limelight after his performance in the film Haasil, wasn’t the original choice for the role. Tigmanshu Dhulia, in a recent chat, recalled that he wanted to cast Manoj Bajpayee for the role as he had gained immense popularity for his performance in the 1998 film Satya. However, Manoj refused to play the the negative role, and that’s how Irrfan came into the picture.
In a recent interview with Mashable India, Tigmanshu Dhulia spoke in detail about his debut film. Talking about Irrfan’s casting in Haasil, the actor-director-writer said, “It was a pure co-incidence. I wanted to make my debut film and Irrfan was a friend. It was all destiny. There was no plotting or maneuvering.” He added, “To be honest, the first person I approached for Haasil wasn’t Irrfan Khan, it was Manoj Bajpayee. Very few people know this. Manoj Bajpayee had become a star by this time as Satya had released. I was friends with him too. We all used to hangout the whole day together.”
Recalling the moment he approached Manoj for the role, Tigmanshu said, “Manoj was shooting for Ghaath when I approached him for Haasil. I narrated him the story of Haasil. But Manoj said he won’t play the villain’s role. It was after he refused that I approached Irrfan.”
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Revealing why Manoj was his first choice, the filmmaker said, “I was being quite selfish at that time. As Manoj was already a star, I thought if I will convince him to do the film, I will get producers too. And the movie will be easily made.” The film, also starring Jimmy Shergill, Hrishita Bhatt, and Rajpal Yadav, released to positive reviews. It marked a turning point in actor Irrfan Khan’s career. He then starred in films like Footpath, Maqbool, and Life in a… Metro, among other classics.
Irrfan and Tigmanshu later worked together in the memorable film Paan Singh Tomar.
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