Irrfan does films for enjoyment, not for money

The versatile actor does not want to be the highest paid in the industry.

MUMBAI: Indian actor Irrfan Khan loves what he does even if he’s not the highest paid actor. As far as money is concerned, the Padma Shri winner’s motto is to earn enough to enjoy life.

“I don’t want to be the highest paid actor. The only thing I want is that whatever work I am doing, it should give me enough to enjoy my life,” said Irrfan, who only looks at the story and script to see how much his performance can contribute to a film.

“I have a relationship with audiences and I should keep giving them some films which should be memorable,” he added.

While Irrfan’s work has been appreciated in both commercial and parallel cinema, he is not at all choosy with scripts.  “The only thing I look for is what creative thing I can explore in the film. I see who the director is and what his vision is,” he said.

After his performances in films like Life in a Metro, The Namesake and Paan Singh Tomar, which won him a National Award for best actor, Irrfan has become a name to reckon with but he takes name and fame with a pinch of salt.

While Irrfan feels this is just the beginning, he’s happy that he’s getting the work he wants to do. “I don’t think I have created something too huge that  I am scared of being demolished. I am not scared of losing anything,” he said.

Irrfan says his new film D-Day is unlike any other Indian spy movie. “Cinema is about escaping from life. It depends on film-makers how they portray reality in the entertainment,” he said. Directed by Nikhil Advani, D-Day also features Rishi Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Shruti Haasan.

“I have seen many Indian spy movies but they never give you an inside understanding of how it works, how they operate, how challenging it is or anything. This film gives you the drama of your life. I am glad that I agreed to do this film and I am proud to see Nikhil experimenting with films,” said the 45-year-old.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2013.

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