'I get bored with my own films,' Bollywood’s Irrfan Khan gets bold

It’s not every day that an actor candidly criticises his own films. But then, not every performer is as confident as Irrfan Khan.

Bollywood’s answer to the thinking woman’s sex symbol, Khan does not believe in mincing words, be it even when his own films find themselves in the firing line.

“But thankfully, ‘D-Day’ is different,” said Khan, talking to Emirates 24|7 during a “much-needed” break from the promotional blitzkrieg in New Delhi for his spy thriller, earlier this week.

The highly awaited movie, which releases across UAE cinemas today, already has trade pundits salivating in anticipation of ‘D-Day’s’ box office collections; and for a change, even Khan is confident about the movie’s mass appeal.

“The sad truth is, even I get bored with watching my own films, but I have watched ‘D-Day’ twice now and it has that repeat value that will draw in fans,” he explained.

When such words come from India’s National Award-winning actor, especially for a film such as the epic ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, one cannot fail to take notice that ‘D-Day’ could very well pack more of a punch that what the two-minute trailers tease us with.

“The film does away with the superhero-like image of a spy and delves into the complexity of an agent’s job; ‘D-Day’ humanises the genre by not focussing on the company or the image, but the person behind the badge,” he explained.

He continued: “Not every spy is a superhero like James Bond. Our director, Nikhil Advani did not want to take that route.”

Khan portrays the role of a RAW agent in the film, a member of India’s secret agency, which even saw the actor go behind the scenes to meet real-life spies to get into the skin of his character.

“We held secret meetings with retired RAW agents, to understand the complexities of their lives,” confessed Khan. “I can’t delve into further detail on the subject because whatever was discussed is a matter of national security, but even the people we interacted with were impressed with the authenticity of the script.”

Khan, who once famously stated that he would never perform in a film that tread on a path of Pakistan bashing, is seen challenging the country’s counter spy agency, the controversial ISI.

Quiz him, and Khan has his own explanation: “‘D-Day’ does not have a Pakistan bashing agenda, far from it in fact. There is a fair reflection and criticism of both India and Pakistan here. That is the sign of growth in the film industry today, which subjected the world to jingoism.”

The 46-year-old, who is as renowned for his Hollywood outings in Oscar-winning films such as last year’s ‘Life of Pi’ and the cult ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, said that he would love to continue experimenting with global cinema.

“The language, the way they run the ship, the whole experience is so different and fulfilling for an actor,” he admitted. “I have “The Lunchbox’ that is coming up, a France-Germany collaboration that is opening up the concept of films to new India.”

However, fans are also eager to know if the actor would reprise his villainous act of Dr Rajit Ratha in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’, who fell off a bridge in the first outing of the blockbuster an was never to be seen again.

“Well, the producers of the sequel have yet to approach me, but if they will why not?” he said.

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