Sahir Ludhianvi Death Anniversary 2023: Irrfan Khan believed he was meant to essay the role of the great poet. Read more to find out why
Sahir Ludhianvi and Irrfan Khan
Sahir Ludhianvi Death Anniversary 2023: Irrfan Khan, the late legendary actor's dream role was no secret. He longed to play Sahir Ludhianvi, the man who was responsible for writing the revolutionary words, 'Jinhe naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hai and Aurat ne janam diya mardo ko, mardo ne usse bazar diya jab jee chaha masla kuchla, jab jee chaha dutkar diya.'
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Irrfan Khan had long confessed to FirstPost that he was a huge Sahir fan. "Before him, romantic songs were written in a particular way. Then this man came along and completely changed the idiom and style of romantic expression. He wrote, Maine tumse hi nahin sabse mohabbat ki hai, for a film called Didi. Sahir wrote poetry that expressed the hope and aspirations of the generation that came after independence. Now we’ve accepted the defeat of that hope. The biggest defeat is our acceptance of the foreign model of existence.”
Irrfan was so convinced that he was made to play Sahir that when he heard that other actors like Farhan Akhtar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan were allegedly being considered for the role in the biopic, which was produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, he confessed, “No that is a mistake. Only I can play Sahir.”
Yes, it was said that SRK was also being considered for the part. This is when Shah Rukh was apparently in an 'experimental frame of mind'. Sanjay Leela Bhansali and SRK, who created the blockbuster 'Devdas', were all set to work together again on this biopic.
It was said that Irrfan Khan had indeed been roped in to play Sahir when the movie was to be produced by Ashi Dua. And then, rumours swirled that Abhishek Bachchan had lost close to 12 kilos to play the lean and luminous poet who undoubtedly redefined the post-independent Hindi film song that seemed to be birthed from the raw emotion of wounded Indians.
Abhishek Bachchan, who is the son of Amitabh Bachchan and grandson of the great poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, quietly learned Sahir's hearty lyrics; some of the lyrics, like "Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon and Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein," were lip-synced by his father Amitabh Bachchan in Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhie, and also the popular Tum bhi chalo hum bhi chalen in the film Zameer.
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