‘No lover boy but I can be a lover’

I can be a lover’Hours before he flew out to Hawaii to film Jurassic World in which he plays a business tycoon and owner of the dino park, an excited Irrfan Khan told Mirror that he was looking forward to interacting with the pre-historic creatures.

“There’s a huge, insatiable curiosity about dinosaurs in the US. There is an attempt to provide constant fodder for the imagination and bringing that reality on to the screen,” he had pointed out. Back from the shoot, the actor refuses to reveal details about the dinos but is obviously impressed with the park that has been created on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

“It’s a huge set and a big unit. The first day that I reported for the shoot, the whole street was filled with trucks. They had blocked a part of the island, mostly jungles and mountains,” he informs, adding that certain portions were also shot in Maui island.

He’s all praise for director and cowriter Collin Trevorrow. “Even though he has just one film behind him, Safety Not Guranteed, he was very chilled out and in control,” he says, excited to have worked with director Ron Howards’s daughter Bryce Dallas Howard known for her performances in films like The Help, As You Like It, Spider-Man 3 and Twilight Salvation. “She’s very good.

When I go back in July I am looking forward to working with other actors like Chris Pratt,” he says.

While working in a big Hollywood franchise gives a high, Irrfan is equally excited about Revolver Rani director, Sai Kabir’s next film, Divine Lovers. “It’s a fantastic love story co-starring Kangana (Ranaut),” says the actor who’s been getting rave reviews the world over for his performance as a mature lover in The Lunchbox.

“I became an actor to explore love and the love in my heart won’t die till I die. It has taken me a long time to make my presence felt as a romantic lead. I’m glad for the opportunity even if it’s come late in life. I cannot be a lover boy now but I can be a lover,” says the actor.

And so the journey towards romance continues from Paan Singh Tomar which he describes as a “sad love letter to the country from Tigmashu Dhulia” to Shoojit Sircar’s Piku which he terms a “quirky love story” with “diva” Deepika Padukone.

But what he’s really looking forward to is doing a love story with Vishal Bhardwaj. “He wins my heart by the way he writes. From what I have seen of Haider, it’s one of Vishal’s best films and Shahid’s (Kapoor) best performance. Shraddha (Kapoor) is like a flower and Tabu, who has been a part of so many turning points in my life – from Maqbool to The Namesake to the Padma Shri which we were both honored with in the same year – has grown more beautiful and grown as an actress over the years,” he asserts.

His rhapsodies pause abruptly when you quiz him about his role in the desi Hamlet. Saying that it’s hard to define. He recalls his first visit to Kashmir for Vishal’s Saat Khoon Maaf and then his return for Haider. “It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth and also one of the worst given the horrible living conditions ,” he sighs. “My character is a reflection of these socio-political aspects. I’m the conscience of the place, the soul and spirit of the movie.” There’s a poet too in Irrfan!