Is Sanya Malhotra’s character in Jawan inspired by Dr Kafeel Khan? Actor answers

Since the release of Jawan on September 7, the internet was quick to notice parallels between Kafeel Khan and Sanya Malhotra’s Dr Eeram in the film. Kafeel had, in fact, also thanked Shah Rukh and the makers of Jawan in a tweet for “raising” an important social issue through the movie.

In an interview with Indianexpress.com, when asked was Kafeel Khan’s story ever a point of reference for the Atlee directorial, Sanya said it wasn’t. “No, not that I know of. I used to completely surrender on set, to Atlee sir’s vision. But I got to know that he tweeted about it. All I can say is I feel very fortunate to have played a character like Eeram. It is a very important message that we are trying to give out.”

According to the book The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy written by Dr Kafeel Khan, he was the junior-most lecturer at the college’s paediatrics department at the time, but he went to great lengths to secure oxygen cylinders, perform emergency treatment and rally the staff to prevent as many deaths as possible– a track eerily similar to that of Sanya Malhotra in the film.

The actor said the hospital sequence of Jawan was a particularly challenging scene to shoot as it pushed her to an emotionally low zone–making her feel that she was witnessing the tragedy unfold in real time.

“While we were shooting it, it took me days to recover from that scene. I couldn’t pinpoint what was bothering me. But after the shoot got over, for three days I felt so heavy. All the other actors in the scene are also performing so well.  It is also Atlee sir’s direction given to them and me.

“The first time I stepped into the room while we were shooting it, I got literal goosebumps looking at those people crying. They were fully (into it) while performing and that helped me perform the way I did. I left the set with that heaviness and for days I couldn’t process why was I feeling so low. The boundaries were blurred and maybe I started believing it was happening in front of my eyes,” she added.

Also starring Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani, Sunil Grover and featuring Deepika Padukone in a special appearance, Jawan is the second blockbuster of the year for Shah Rukh Khan, after his smashing comeback with Pathaan.