“Irrfan Was Never Considered For Daud,” Ram Gopal Varma Sets The Record Straight

A  story  doing the rounds claims Manoj Bajpai and Irrfan  Khan were both being  considered for  the  role  of Paresh  Rawal’s  henchman in Ram Gopal Varma’s 1997  dud Daud. Manoj finally  got the role.

According to  Manoj, Ramu agreed to meet Manoj  for a  minor role in Daud,. But when he  reached  for the meeting, Irrfan and  actor Vineet  Kumar were already  there  for the same  role. Manoj claims he managed to wrangle the role away  from  his two competitors .

However  Ramu has  a different take on what really happened. “No, Irrfaan was  never considered for Daud. I  didn’t even  know him when Daud was being made. I had seen Manoj  in  Shekhar Kapoor’s Bandit Queen and  offered him the role in Daud.”

When did  Ramu  come to know  Irrfan?  “We were  introduced long after Daud. We  never worked together. I don’t know  why!  It’s just one  of those  things that never happened. I regret  it  now. We would have created a special magic together.I think he was  an actor who  could anything.”

Hansal Mehta who shares  his birthday with  Irrfan’s death anniversary also regrets not having worked with Irrfan. “I will always share this date with him for the  rest of life.Every year on my birthday I will be reminded  of  his rude  sudden and unforgivable going. We did not ever work together but shared a very warm camaraderie over the years. Shared many drunken nights with him talking about life and a lot of other shit.”