Akarsh Khurana talks Karwaan and Irrfan

TALENTED director Akarsh Khurana tells East­ern Eye about comedy-drama Karwaan and working with award-win­ning actor Irrfan Khan...

What inspired Karwaan?

The seed of the idea about the protagonist receiving a wrong body and having to set off on a journey to exchange corpses came from Be­joy Nambiar. Adhir Bhat and I were working with Bejoy at the time, and loved the thought. So we started flesh­ing it out, creating other characters, and we were happy with the direction we took. Then Hussain Dalal came on board to do dialogues and the script got even better.

What was Irrfan Khan like to work with?

I was in awe for the first few days. But then I realised that he is very accessible and normal. He seemed to be happy with the way things were going and before long the crew got along rather well with him and vice versa. We had a very nice working relationship. Because one respects him so much, it isn’t easy becoming backslap­ping buddies, but we had a good comfort level on shoot and very warm and pleasant interactions.

Many of us were working with him for the first time. Avinash Arun, our DOP, and he are friends so that put him at ease, and soon enough good equations were formed all around. In terms of work, he is just so brilliant; it’s unreal. Shaukat was always a well-written part, but he just made the character work like magic. Honest­ly, I had to constantly not allow myself to be overwhelmed that Irrfan and Dulquer (Salmaan) were in my movie.

What do you most like about Irrfan as an actor?

What I like most is that while he has a process and does a hell of a lot of homework, he doesn’t let that show or come in the way of who he is when the camera isn’t roll­ing. He’s normal, chatty and playing cricket or discuss­ing international cinema, then when the cameras roll he transforms into this whole new persona with a range of emotions. He’ll suddenly play out an emotional scene with unpredictable intensity and you’re like: ‘Wow, where did that come from? We were only just having a laugh’.

Can you share a memorable moment working with him?

There’s so many. I remember that we couldn’t stop laughing at his portrayal of Shaukat or his improvisa­tions. One incident in particular was this action se­quence we needed to shoot in which his character had to hang off the side of a moving car, kick off a goon, and then slide in through the window.

The action director Sunil Rodrigues worked out a breakdown of shots. Irrfan watched the rehearsal for a while and then said he wanted to try it. He was excited and enthusiastic, like a child wanting to try a dangerous ride at an amusement park, and he pulled it off smooth­ly in just his third take. We also saved one day of shoot.

Who are you hoping Karwaan will appeal to?

If this is about hope, then everyone! It’s a nice story. An emotional comedy, some may say. Three different actors with totally varied audiences playing three different characters with very contrasting traits. Together I think they widen the reach of the film quite a bit. And despite having loads of humour, it has a solid emotional core which I hope will resonate across the board.

Why should we watch Karwaan?

I think it has a unique story, fabulous performances, fit­ting music, gorgeous locations, sparkling dialogue, and cinematography that is just divine. I’m also biased and love the film. But I’m certain that whoever watches it, the film will check some of these boxes for them if not all.

• Karwaan is in cinemas on August 3