Irrfan Khan, face of Hindi cinema in the West

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Irrfan Khan is unquestionably the face of Hindi cinema in the west. His performance in Meera Nair's The Namesake earned him rave reviews and a place in the mindset of both discerning audiences as well as filmmakers. He appeared alongside Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart and now has a small role in Danny Boyle's critically acclaimed, Slumdog Millionaire. Here are excerpts from a chat with CNN-IBN Entertainment Editor, Rajeev Masand, about his career in Hollywood and Bollywood.

Rajeev Masand: Would you describe this as the most creatively satisfying phase of your career? On the one hand, you are just months away from the release of Billoo Barber which is your first lead title role in a pure masala Hindi commercial film and on the other hand you are doing roles in films such as The Namesake and A Mighty Heart and you have pretty much established yourself as the face of Indian cinema in the west.

Irrfan Khan The kind of affect these two films - A Mighty Heart and The Namesake - had on people, has really made a place for me in their heart. Like now I was shooting in Philadelphia for a film called New York, I could still see that people remember my other movies. I went to watch the new Woody Allen film and the guy who was selling the tickets, he said, 'oh you are the guy from The Namesake'. After The Namesake was released, Meera Nair had a photo exhibition of the film. There was a photo that showed me in Ohio standing at my flat. At the exhibition, one woman was standing looking at the photo and crying. I went up to her and I asked what was wrong, she said she was just happy, ecstatic. These kind of impressions, reactions are very hard to get. I am very lucky that I got them for a film which made its mark in India and abroad.

Rajeev Masand: With Meera Nair you have come a whole circle. You started your career with a small role in Salaam Bombay, which as luck would have it got edited from the film. Then of course she compensated you many years later with The Namesake. You did a small role in her AIDS film, Migration and recently you've worked with her again for Kosher Vegetarian a short film which you shot with Natalie Portman, as part of the New York I Love You series.

Irrfan Khan I think Meera has some role to play in my life. I was doing my final year at the National School of Drama and she saw my play and said, 'I want this boy in my next'. She brought me to Bombay and we did a workshop together and that was a great experience for me because I was full of idealistic notions of acting and the workshop totally changed my persepective. When we did Salaam Bombay and I was told that I don't fit in after everything was completed, I was really upset. That was my first break as well as heartbreak. Sometimes when I think about it, it's like life preparing you for your journey. Whenever I met her at film festivals and all, I used to hold that little grudge in me, that she is making all these films and she never called me. Suddenly one day she called me for The Namesake and said you are doing this role. And I just happened to be reading the book at the time. And it happened.

Rajeev Masand: I'd like to know why you have done films like Aaja Nachle, Krazzy 4 etc.

Irrfan Khan Kabhi kabhi aapki akal pe pathar pad jaate hain. (Sometimes it's like there are rocks in my brain). Sometimes one feels that this may be a good move commercially and more people will see you, but that is a wrong approach. You should be honest to yourself and then things will follow.

Rajeev Masand: Tell us about your next Hindi release, Dil Kabbadi. It seems like a warm romantic comedy.

Irrfan Khan It's a film with a different view for the Indian audience. It's a very spontaneous kind of a film. I am playing a normal guy who works in a bank and he has a very nice wife. But sometimes you know, when you are nearing forty, you want to relive your youth and become this cool dude again. So he is a foolish guy, he is naive. He is also mentally disturbed because he is not getting enough sex with his wife. He feels that if you don't get enough sex, then the balance of your mind and body gets shattered. So that is his concern.

Rajeev Masand: What's the attraction in doing small roles in films like Darjeeling Limited and Slumdog Millionaire?

Irrfan Khan Sometimes I choose these just because I love the director and I want to be with that person. Like Slumdog Millionaire, the role didn't excite me at all and I told the producer that and the producer then kept calling me saying it's an Oscar-winning role. But then you know such films may just get you the Oscars. But honestly, my whole attraction was Danny Boyle. Like in Darjeeling Limited, I just wanted to see Wes Anderson, especially since mine was just a one-line role. But sometimes you don't plan things and things happen. People even mentioned me in the reviews.

Rajeev Masand: But best of luck, looking forward to seeing lots more from you.