Fahadh Faasil: Irrfan Khan changed my life

Fahadh recalled his first encounter with Irrfan’s work and wrote, “So my friend, Nikunj and I used to drive to a Pakistani grocery close to our campus to rent Indian DVDs over the weekend. On one such visit to Khalid bhai, the store owner recommended a film called ‘Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota’. The first thing I noticed was that the film was directed by Naseeruddin Shah. I decided to grab the DVD for the weekend show. That night, few minutes in to the film when the character Salim Rajabali came on screen, I turned to Nikunj and asked -who is this guy? I mean there are actors who are intense, who are stylish and who are charming. In all honesty, this was the first time I ever saw an actor who was -ORIGINAL, on screen. And his name was IRRFAN KHAN (sic).”

READ: Irrfan Khan passes away at 53

Fahadh said he hardly paid attention to the story as he was more interested in watching Irrfan perform. “He made acting look so easy and I was fooled. Amidst discovering Irrfan Khan, I decided to drop out of engineering school and return to India. TO ACT IN FILMS (sic),” said the actor, who is one of the finest actors of Malayalam cinema today.

Fahadh’s only regret is that he couldn’t meet Irrfan in person.

“Even when my dear friend Dulquer was shooting with Irrfan in our home town I couldn’t meet him as I was going through a hectic schedule myself. I had no reason to believe why I had to rush. Today, I regret not shaking hands with him. I should have just gone to Bombay and met him,” he shared.

“The entire day went by today and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I feel obliged to him. I feel like I owe my career to him. I don’t think I would have come this far If I hadn’t picked up that DVD and watched an actor who changed my life,” he added.