Irrfan Khan said no to Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” to do “Lunchbox”

The versatile and wonderful actor who acted in many Bollywood and also a few Hollywood projects had once rejected Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. The “Lunchbox” actor made a choice that very few actors would make given the exciting opportunity that Hollywood presents.

Back in 2011-12, Irrfan Khan agreed to shoot Ritesh Batra’s ‘festival film’ “Lunchbox”. There was surely no one better than him to play the typical Mumbai guy who dons formals with a bag in his hand and does the monotonous routine job that he has been doing for the past 35 years. His character falls for a lady who accidentally delivers her husband’s lunchbox to him. His role in Lunchbox became memorable and will be discussed till there is cinema.

Christopher Nolan had approached him for the film

Nolan himself confirmed in an interview with ETimes that he had met him for the film. He said, “I did meet Irrfan for Interstellar. I was looking forward to working with him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do the film. He was a great actor.”

The reason behind his rejection of the film

Irrfan told the Times of India,” They expected a huge commitment from my end. I had to stay in the US for four months at a stretch. I tried to work out my schedule and suggested that I could shuttle between India and the US, as it wouldn’t have been possible for me to be there for that long. Wanted to be here for The Lunchbox and D-Day. They couldn’t allow that. I don’t tend to regret what I do, but knowing it’s a Christopher Nolan film, I can say that this has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made.”

Irrfan surely made the right choice as he did what was more compatible for him at the moment and it surely turned out the best for his career. Christopher Nolan is equally talented and amazing but Irrfan made a smart choice even though it was tough for him.

Lunchbox received many awards

Lunchbox was a landmark film and he deserved all the admiration that he got from the film. The film garnered many awards. Nawazuddin Siddique won the award for Best Supporting Actor in 2014 while Irrfan Khan received the Asian Film Award for Best Actor. Ritesh Batra received the award for the Best Screenplay. And these are just some of the awards, the film won multiple times for best feature film.

Irrfan’s fans loved him in the movie and this movie is still discussed largely today. His raw and enigmatic performance in the film brought out the best of him and the film continues to impress the coming generation too.

By: Gursharan Kaur