If you have the right part to weave your spell on the audience, then the face doesn’t matter. What matters is your aura, your personality and your presence in impacting the film.

Irrfan (Khan), of the brooding expression and eloquent eyes, speaks to PIROJ WADIA about his uneven career choices, the much-talked about Maqbool and his final recognition as an actor of substance.

[Irrfan Khan: Well deserved moment in the spotlight]

Excerpts from the interview:

Irrfan’s father, a businessman who hailed from the royal family of Tonk, couldn’t fathom his son’s passion for acting…and passed away before Irrfan joined the National School of Drama (NSD). “I wish he could see me now,” reflects the actor….

“We would choose any place in the university to rehearse and decide the spaces for the stage and audience and do the play. My goal was to enrol at the NSD. If I hadn’t got into NSD I would have gone mad.

“We needed to have performed ten plays before we were admitted, I had done only four, but I still claimed that I had done ten!

“NSD wasn’t all that I hoped it would be. I was too ambitious and too naïve. I was in a hurry about everything. I would put a lot of pressure on myself and was constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. That was when I didn’t enjoy acting. If I get a chance to go to NSD in my next life, I’ll ensure that I won’t make the same mistakes.”

Haasil spun the dice in the actor’s favour, fetching him well-deserved acclaim and film awards for best supporting actor in a negative role. He says he expected the award.

“Generally I’m not so sure about my performance but, in the case of Haasil, I was. The role was well written and I was sure that it would get me the award. If I hadn’t (got it), it would have been a problem for the organisers as people would have questioned their credibility.”