Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj recently revealed that his friend and late actor Irrfan Khan was uncertain about his decision to cast Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi in Omkara. Irrfan believed that he himself was a better fit for the character than Saif.
Vishal Bhardwaj recalls Irrfan Khan`s reaction to Omkara casting
The director recalled what Irrfan said to him after he learnt about Saif being roped in to play Langda Tyagi in the 2006 film, which was adapted from William Shakespeare`s tragedy Othello.
While speaking at a session on Wednesday after a special screening of A Story That Refused to Die, a documentary on Irrfan`s film Paan Singh Tomar, Bhardwaj recalled, “For the role of Langda Tyagi, you have Saif play the part, and it will be a huge deal if he even agrees to cut his hair. I should be doing this part.` But by then, Saif was locked, and the shoot had already happened. I think if Irrfan had done it, it would have been something else entirely.”
Although Irrfan did not feature in Omkara, which was the second instalment of Bhardwaj`s acclaimed Shakespearean trilogy, the late actor had headlined the first film, Maqbool. He also played a pivotal part in the third film, Haider, headlined by Shahid Kapoor.
Vishal Bhardwaj wanted to make O`Romeo with Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone
At the event, Bhardwaj also opened up about several films that the two planned and never materialised. These included an adaptation of Tirichh, based on a story by Uday Prakash, as well as a romantic film titled Dream Sequence, in which Irrfan was supposed to play a singer.
“He loved to sing and dance. Irrfan had shared a video of a Persian girl playing a traditional instrument. She was very beautiful and had a strong presence. He said he would do it, but that also did not happen,” Vishal recalled.
Interestingly, the filmmaker also revealed that there was a film that would have reunited Irrfan with his Piku co-star Deepika Padukone. However, Bhardwaj later made that project, titled O` Romeo, with Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri.
