"In Hollywood, the centre is the story, the power of the story." The late Irrfan Khan spoke about his experiences working in Indian and international films in this 2015 conversation...
Thanks to INKtalks for the footage.
Thanks to INKtalks for the footage.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00First, I was looking for acknowledgement from my mother.
00:02When I didn't get it, I started looking, you know, outside of my, you know, surroundings.
00:07In our industry, we are… the center of the story is the image of the star.
00:15The films which I do in Hollywood, there the… the center is the story, the power of the story.
00:23In the East versus West, are there different ways that we make films that… that make you an actor in a different way?
00:34See, there are few differences and they are very, you know, very important differences.
00:38Like, sometimes in our industry, we are… the center of the story is the image of the star.
00:48And all the departments serve that image. All the characters around him serve that image.
00:56The films which I do in Hollywood, there the… the center is the story, the power of the story.
01:05You can take anybody, you know, from Tom Hanks to everybody, all the big stars, they are serving the purpose of the story,
01:14not the image of the star. So, that changes everything.
01:20Because all the departments are working towards communicating that idea, that story.
01:26And people bringing their own reflection, their own experience of their life to enhance that story,
01:35not about serving a particular image, you know, star's image.
01:42If you are not doing a conventional work, if you are not following conventional, you know, storytelling,
01:52you are made feel guilty about what you are bringing a newness to the craft.
01:59You are in pressure, you know, you are always like a threat. What… what is this guy doing?
02:05Why we are not being able to, you know, either you should come and serve our conventional storytelling
02:12or you are an outsider, you are creating a kind of disturbance.
02:15At one point of time, I started my career as an actor because I was looking for acknowledgement.
02:20First I was looking for acknowledgement from my mother. When I didn't get it, I started looking, you know,
02:26outside of my, you know, surroundings. And that somehow manifested into, you know,
02:32becoming an actor that, you know, I thought actor, you know, basically it was for acknowledgement.
02:38And then through, you know, after drama school and, you know, after many years,
02:44I came to know this is not acknowledgement, it is… it is an experience, you know,
02:49which you share with the audience and that becomes your, you know, wealth.
02:55That is the most important thing. When you do a story, you pour in your life and you make that thing,
03:01that story an experience for the audience and that becomes an experience for the audience
03:06and that sharing is something which is… which is so precious, you know, you cannot match that kind of thing.
03:14So that is something, you know, very, very special to me as an actor.
03:19And sometimes I don't plan, you know, I rely on how nature, you know, nudges you and you follow that and, you know,
03:28see what's going to happen.
03:29There are some buffer jungles, you know, buffer forest of Jim Corbett.
03:35I don't want to tell the exact location because of, you know, so many things.
03:46And they are still pristine forest, you know, they are still untouched.
03:51All the poachers, you know, they find out things about… but it's still, you know, they are forest like…
03:58you see a tree which has fallen down twenty years back, it's still there, it's getting… it's getting decayed
04:04and you see that it's… there's not… not many people come there.
04:09In those kind of forests when you go and you know that, you know, after fifty… after five meter,
04:14you don't know what is there, it's so dense.
04:17So when you go there and when you're walking around, you know, on the river bank
04:24and you don't know what is there, suddenly, you know, we were there and a guy from… local guy was with us
04:32and he just has one stick, that's it.
04:36And there was a mound and after that there was a deep inside.
04:40And as we, you know, climbed on that mound, like, you know, ten meters away,
04:46there was this tiger and suddenly growled.
04:51It growled but because, you know, what happens when the tiger is there, he… first, you know, he warns you,
04:57then growls, then when you are too close, then he attacks with… with fright.
05:02You know, he doesn't attack because of, you know, some… because, you know, he is… he is basically trying to save himself.
05:08So unfortunately, you know, the distance was too close.
05:12So he suddenly growled and he started growling and then this guy panicked.
05:18The guy who was with us, the local guy, he panicked.
05:22He panicked and he started growling at him.
05:27And he growled in a, you know, he has shouted desperately because he knew if… if, you know, this is… this is something,
05:35you know, we have gone… we have… we have gone, you know, we have crossed the limit.
05:39Too close for comfort.
05:40Too close because we didn't know.
05:42And then suddenly, you know, he backed up and he, you know, he went away.
05:47See, is that the answer? You have to start growling if you see…
05:50I think you have to… you shouldn't go… yeah, you shouldn't… you shouldn't take away your eyes and, you know, you have to face it.