Oscar-winning Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, known for films such as Birdman and The Revenant, was looking for an "Indian everyman" for a project, and filmmaker Mira Nairsays she suggested Irrfan Khan's name, but it was not meant to be.
According to Nair, Inarritu was looking for an Indian actor for one of his projects and happened to ask her for a recommendation.
"I remember well when I had visited him (Irrfan) he was really ailing but still fighting... My other friend, the great filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu had said, 'I'm really looking for this Indian everyman'.
"I said, 'There are many but there's one great one'. And it was going to be Irrfan... But such is life," the 66-year-old director said on Tuesday night during a session at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in Mumbai.
Irrfan died in April 2020 following a battle with a rare form of cancer. Nair, who worked with the actor in Salaam Bombay, The Namesake, and her short in the anthology film, New York I Love You, recalled meeting Irrfan for the first time at the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi.
She felt that he was the perfect choice for the role of one of the key characters, Salim, in Salaam Bombay. But she later realised that casting him in that role would not be correct given the plot of the film. He eventually appeared in a small role in the 1988 film, which marked his acting debut.
Salaam Bombay, which was also Nair's filmmaking debut, is known for realistically depicting the daily life and struggle of children living in Mumbai slums.
"I was interested in street kids playing with themselves. It was an amalgamation of street kids and actors, that’s when I went to the National School of Drama and met 18-year-old Irrfan Khan. I was like, 'He is the man!'. I asked him and he dropped out of NSD. We all, including Irrfan, Raghubir Yadav, our cinematographer, and street kids (sometimes) lived together in an empty flat in Peddar Road (South Mumbai).
"Irrfan was six-feet-four and these kids were malnourished. They reached his torso. He was cast in my head as Salim, one of the main kids. We did a workshop but visually I couldn’t see them in a frame because Irrfan would tower over them, even though he was an amazing street kid.”
Nair said it was "very difficult" to recast that role in Salaam Bombay, but she did so after promising to collaborate with Irrfan on a full-length film later.
“One of the very difficult things, which one has to do, is to respect intuition and correctness. He understood (this) after he wept. I just told him, ‘Irrfan bhai I can’t do this, I can’t see you as Salim because you don’t fit now with the rest of the four’. There’s one scene that he could play and he played the part with great brilliance.
Rahul’s casual dismissal of that controversy has added fuel to the fire
Rahul Bhatt sparks controversy over 'insensitive' remarks about sisters Alia and Pooja Bhatt
Rahul Bhatt, fitness trainer and son of veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, has found himself at the centre of a social media storm following controversial remarks about his half-sister, Alia Bhatt. In a recent interview, Rahul drew comparisons between Alia and their older sister Pooja Bhatt, calling the latter more talented, attractive, and principled.
The comments, which many have labelled inappropriate and insensitive, have sparked widespread criticism online. During the interview, Rahul stated, “In my opinion, she (Alia) is not even half of what my real sister Pooja is. Not in talent, not in looks, not in terms of being sexy. In front of my sister, she is ‘paani kam chai’ (watery tea). Amongst the siblings, the most talented and the most moralistic is Pooja.”
Social media users reacted strongly, questioning why Rahul would compare his sisters in such personal terms. Several users were particularly disturbed by his reference to their appearance and sex appeal, pointing out that such comparisons within a family cross boundaries of propriety. One comment read, “This is disturbing. Why talk about your sisters like that? It’s not just weird, it’s wrong.” Another post said, “There’s nothing respectful about comparing your siblings’ attractiveness in public.”
The backlash also reignited conversation around a decades-old controversy involving Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt. Rahul was asked about the infamous 1990s magazine cover where the father-daughter duo shared a kiss, which had stirred public outrage at the time. Dismissing the criticism, Rahul said, “It doesn’t make any difference. It’s like water off a duck’s back. We know the truth, and we’ve seen everything since childhood.”
Rahul’s casual dismissal of that controversy has added fuel to the fire, with critics saying it reflects a broader issue of the Bhatt family being insensitive to public perception and boundaries. Many users questioned the need for bringing up old incidents in a bid to defend new and equally questionable statements.
As of now, neither Alia Bhatt nor Pooja Bhatt has issued any public response to Rahul’s remarks. Both actors, known for their significant contributions to Indian cinema, have typically kept family matters private despite living in the public eye.
This episode has also sparked debate over the role of public figures in maintaining respect when discussing family matters in the media. Observers say such comments, especially when involving women’s appearance and personal qualities, reinforce problematic attitudes and fuel unnecessary controversies.
While Rahul Bhatt is not as prominent in the entertainment industry as his father or sisters, his comments have made headlines and placed the Bhatt family in the spotlight for reasons beyond their creative work. For many, this serves as a reminder that public platforms come with responsibility, and that family ties should not be trivialised or dissected for attention or comparison.
The backlash is unlikely to subside soon, especially as fans and followers of Alia and Pooja continue to express disappointment over the way the situation has unfolded. Whether or not Rahul chooses to clarify or apologise remains to be seen.