Tribute to Irrfan Khan: Screening of Paan Singh Tomar in 26th KIFF

Irrfan Khan, one of the most out-of-the-box heroes in Bollywood post the famous Khans, passed away of cancer last year.

Interestingly, he had said in an interview that he had never even heard of Paan Singh Tomar till his friend from the National School of Drama approached him to do the title role in his film which he was going to direct.

Paan Singh Tomar, an army man who turned to sports, eventually became a seven-time national champion, and set new records in the arduous athletic event of steeplechase. However, his fame grew only after he turned to the Chambal valley, became a baaghi - a rebel, as he saw himself, but a common dacoit in the eyes of the law.

"The subject was very close to my heart and to everyone associated with Paan Singh Tomar. Working with Tigmanshu was a long-cherished dream-come-true.  The film is important not because it is just cinema but it goes far beyond cinema. It tells a story of where talent can go in any field when a man has his back to the wall,” he said in an interview following the National Award.

This tall, dark and not-so-handsome young man with his large, brooding eyes, his long silences, broke every rule in the Bollywood book that crafted its hero either as a romantic hero, or a six-abs youngster oozing machismo, or, the handsome prince who arrived to rescue his damsel in distress. But he was made for different roles in films made across the map – India, Bangladesh, the US, the UK and everywhere that charted out a career flooded with a range of characters that set the trend for out-of-the-box heroes like Nizamuddin Sheikh among others."

"Two months before the shoot, I took physical training from a Delhi-based national-level coach on Steeplechase. It was difficult but enjoyable. I also undertook lessons on voice modulation and pronunciation as I had to speak in local dialect.

"It was a different experience because you need to be convincing in all aspects to resemble the person that you are essaying. The character required me to be physically fit. Hence after the shoot, I would exercise. Chambal is a beautiful place, so I would go for jogs in the evenings,” said Irrfan Khan.

He went on to add that the film has changed his way of looking at life, discipline and commitment.

As an about-to-retire accountant in The Lunch Box, Irrfan Khan’s role is a brilliant example of an ageing, introverted widower who falls in love with a woman he has never seen through an accidental switch of the lunch box.

The film was screened at the International Critics Week at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and   later won the Critics Week Viewers Choice Award also known as Grand Rail d'Or. The Lunch Box was Irrfan Khan's highest-grossing film. till Hindi Medium broke the record.

The Lunchbox was nominated for the Best Film in the English Language category of the British Academy Film Awards 2015.

The universal drawing capacity of Irrfan Khan, the actor, is another reason why it was a festival hit and an Indian hit.

The film was screened at the International Critics’ Week at Cannes and later ended up making more than Rs.20 crore in India. It also won the Critics Week Viewers Choice Award, and was screened at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.

(Reporting by Shoma A. Chatterji)