My name is not Khan

When Irrfan Khan first ventured into films, he was keen on parallel cinema. It was a dying art then and his interest soon shifted to being a villain8217;s sidekick.

Irrfan Khan on why he wants to drop his last name

When Irrfan Khan first ventured into films, he was keen on parallel cinema. It was a dying art then and his interest soon shifted to being a villain8217;s sidekick. 8220;If Gulshan Grover could get a role, so could I,8221; he says. And that determination has got him a long way since his struggling days. Successful Hollywood releases, critically acclaimed roles and several path-breaking films later, his aim is to steer clear of stereotypes. 8220;It troubles me when people tag me as a serious or an intense actor. So in the last two years, I8217;ve tried to do roles that are difficult to categorise and I was lucky to get suitable ones,8221; he smiles.

With his next release, Dil Kabaddi, he hopes to get a stronghold on commercial cinema. 8220;After Life in a Metro, Krazzy 4 and Sunday, audience saw the comic in me. Dil Kabaddi is an extension of Life in a Metro, I play the role of a naiuml;ve, boring, banker who is dealing with marital issues,8221; he says.

He8217;s a tad upset at not being paired opposite Konkona Sen Sharma, who he shares a special rapport with. 8220;I was supposed to be paired opposite Konkona, but Rahul Bose insisted he did that role. This time he has taken her away from me,8221; he jokes. 8220;But if that hadn8217;t happened, I wouldn8217;t have had a chance to work with Soha Ali Khan, a spontaneous and talented actor.8221;

It is the spontaneity of the film, the unstructured dialogue and the free-flowing scenes that Khan truly appreciates. 8220;The director Anil Sharma Senior8212; that is his name gave us the freedom to alter dialogue and reconstruct scenes. The camera simply followed us,8221; says Khan, who acknowledges this as the best phase in Indian cinema. 8220;We are now exposed to world cinema and are willing to experiment with the way we present our stories,8221; says the actor.

With his upcoming releases 8212; Priyadarshan8217;s Billo Barber, Sanjay Gupta8217;s Acid Factory, Jennifer Chambers Lynch8217;s Hisss and Kabir Khan8217;s New York, Khan hopes to enter the popular consciousness of the masses. 8220;But the role I8217;m really looking forward to is that of Pan Singh Tomar. It is a real-life story of a military officer, who faces social injustice when he returns to the village and is forced to become a dacoit in the Chambal Valley.8221;

With so many films in the kitty, does he plan on making it to the Khan bandwagon of Bollywood? 8220;I am planning to get rid of my surname,8221; he laughs. 8220;I feel burdened under pressure.8221;