Mumbai: Actor Irrfan Khan believed his character of ‘Ranvijay Singh’ in 2003’s Haasil would go on to become as iconic as Amjad Khan’s ‘Gabbar Singh’ from the cult classic Sholay. This has been revealed by the director of the movie and longtime friend Tigmanshu Dhulia. It should be stated here that Irrfan Khan donned the coat of ‘Ranvijay Singh’ in the best possible manner.
The role of ‘Ranvijay’, a student leader with negative overtones, proved to be a breakthrough for the actor. Irrfan was then trying to make a mark in the field of cinema and made him a darling in the Hindi heartland.
Set in a university in Allahabad, Haasil revolves around two gangs in a college which are out to finish each other.
One gang is headed by college veteran and students’ union president Gauri Shankar (Ashutosh Rana), the other an aspiring politician Ranvijay Singh (Irrfan). Aniruddh (Jimmy Shergill), a law-abiding college student, falls in love with Niharika (Hrishitaa Bhatt) and gets caught up in college politics and crime and must fight it out for himself when his friend becomes his foe.
Dhulia shared an anecdote from the Haasil on the 18th anniversary of the film Sunday. Dhulia said Irrfan was certain that his portrayal of the cunning and ambitious ‘Ranvijay’ will be as memorable as as ‘Gabbar’.
Even though the two characters were unlike each other, the director said, Irrfan Khan will always be remembered.
“Haasil…16th of May the film did wonders for us I remember doing the background score and irfan dropped in. We were working on the climax, he saw it said this villain will be remembered like ‘Gabbar Singh’…Well the villain was unlike ‘Gabbar’ but yes Irrfan will always be remembered,” Dhulia wrote in a tweet.
For his performance in Haasil, Irrfan won the ‘Filmfare Award’ for best actor in a negative role.
Dhulia and Irrfan Khan first met at the National School of Drama (NSD) in the 1980s. It was just the beginning of their long-standing association, both on-screen and off-screen.
The two formed a solid cinematic partnership. They worked in acclaimed films like 2010’s Paan Singh Tomar, for which Irrfan won the best actor ‘National Award’. They also worked in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (2013).
Irrfan died April 29 last year following a two-year-long battle with a neuroendocrine tumour.
