Karan Johar on not directing Irrfan Khan: 'Didn't want to be a blotch in his beauteous career graph'

The fear of being a blotch in late actor Irrfan Khans otherwise beauteous career graph kept filmmaker Karan Johar from directing the very sexy starIn an interview with journalistauthor Shubhra Gupta for her book Irrfan Life in Movies Johar admitted that Irrfan was way stronger than anything he could have ever offered himHe Irrfan was way stronger than anything I could have ever offered him I never arrived at a screenplay a film a thought or an idea that would warrant the presence of the magnitude that Irrfan Khan brought to the tableThats the reason Ive never had a film with Irrfan because Ive never wanted to be that filmmaker that gave him a substandard mainstream film I didnt want to be the blotch in his otherwise beauteous career graph said Johar as quoted in the bookThe filmmaker known for directing blockbusters like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham My Name Is Khan and Ae Dil Hal Mushkilafter said Irrfans death in April 2020 from a rare form of cancer was a terrible lossIronically after Irrfans death at least five scripts landed on Johars table that the director believed would have been perfect for the Paan Singh Tomar actorThere are at least five scripts that landed on my table after he passed away that were screaming Irrfan Khan I just feel terrible And you know why those scripts came to my table now Because now is the time that cinema is ready for that material and that material was all Irrfan Khan he explainedThe 51yearold filmmaker counts not directing Irrfan and Sridevi as the two regrets of his lifeRecalling how he and his friend fellow director Zoya Akhtar agreed that there was no other actor like Irrfan Khan Johar also spoke about the late actors little discussed but tremendous sex appealIts very important to say that women found him sexy he had tremendous sex appeal You know always its the actors who do the more cerebral the more intellectual the more criticfriendly cinema that you dont associate with sex appeal somehow I think Irrfan Khan was very sexy and it was a huge icing on his terrific talent cake he saidTaking solace in the fact that he has at least one of Irrfans movies The Lunchbox on his roster even if he was just a presenter on that film Johar one of Indias most bankable producerdirector said to him the actors real breakthrough moment commercially came with the 2017 film Hindi MediumHindi Medium did business of about seventy crores purely on account of a simple highconcept small film and Irrfan did it entirely on his own Thats when I think everyone woke up to the fact that Irrfan Khan is a numbers man as wellUp to the point everything else Life in a Metro and everything that you said had a great actor great idea he worked very well But when Hindi Medium came out and it did the numbers thats when the industry woke up to his commercial possibilities he addedUnfortunately it was as late as that Johar saidldquoIrrfan Life in Moviesrdquo published by Pan Macmillan India hit the stands on Wednesday The book offers a compelling account of Irrfans life and achievements starting from his days at the NSD to his nearly a decadelong stint in television and his gradual ascent in the film industryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever