Irrfan Khan loved acting more than anything else. Even when his body was breaking down, his heart stayed strong. During the shoot of ‘Angrezi Medium,’ he came to work every day he could. He stood in front of the camera even when he was in deep pain. Many people did not know how much he was suffering at that time. Now, details from the set show how hard those days really were for him.
The costume designer speaks from the set
During an episode of Unfolding Talents (UT) on the Digital Commentary YouTube channel, costume designer Smriti Chauhan spoke about working with Irrfan. She shared that his health slowly got worse during the shoot. She said, “He was in a lot of pain when we were shooting Angrezi Medium.” She recalled that Irrfan told her only one thing: “Smriti, I get very cold.” He asked her to get warmers from a brand in London. She agreed and tried her best to help him stay comfortable.
Shrinking body and extra padding
Smriti shared that Irrfan’s body kept getting thinner as the shoot went on. She said, “During the shoot of the film also, he kept shrinking. We had to add a lot of padding to his clothes.” Even when he wore many layers, more padding was needed. The film had summer scenes, but Irrfan still wore padded vests to stay warm. His weakness was clear, but his will to act never faded.
Pain, breaks, and missed shoot days
There were days when Irrfan could not come to the set. Smriti said, “There have been days on Angrezi Medium when we couldn’t shoot because he couldn’t reach the set despite trying.” His pain became too much at times. His family stayed close to him. He took breaks during the shoot when he could not cope. Smriti felt that acting was his life. She said he believed, “This is what I live for, and I probably want to just die doing this.”Directed by Homi Adajania, ‘Angrezi Medium’ starred Radhika Madan, Kareena Kapoor, Deepak Dobriyal, and Ranvir Shorey.
