Sanjay Leela Bhansali Once Roped In Shah Rukh Khan To Play The Legendary ‘Kabhi Kabhie’ Poet Sahir Ludhianvi, But Late Irrfan Reacted, “That Is A Mistake, Only I Can Play Sahir!”
Sanjay Leela Bhansali once roped Shah Rukh Khan to play Sahir Ludhianvi, and late Irrfan Khan strongly disapproved of this casting. Read
Late Irrfan Once Strongly Disapproved Of Shah Rukh Khan Playing Sahir Ludhianvi On Screen ( Photo Credit – Instagram ; IMDb )
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Late Irrfan is one of those few who was so passionate about the roles he loved that he would do anything to see them live on screen. One such role he dreamt of playing on screen was the great poet Sahir Ludhianvi. The man who wrote the dreamy verses, “Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai Ki Zindagi Teri Zulfon Ki Narm Chhaon Mein…” immortalized by Amitabh Bachchan. However, it was Shah Rukh Khan who was offered to play Ludhianvi once.
However, the rumors around the Sahir Ludhianvi film and its cast kept changing over time. Initially, it was said that the Paan Singh Tomar actor was approached to play Sahir Saab. It was also confirmed that Kareena Kapoor Khan was offered to play Amrita Pritam. The Omkara actress in an interview with Mid Day, once confirmed the same and said, “I wish the Sahir film had happened.”
But Irrfan, in a media interaction, once confirmed that the offer to play Sahir Ludhianvi keeps coming and going and revealed that as much as he wants to play the legendary poet, the offer to his film comes and goes again and again. He even maintained that if the role doesn’t come to him, it is okay.
However, he was told, during one such interaction, that Shah Rukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan have turned into the top contenders to play Sahir Ludhianvi in a film being made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, which was reportedly titled Gustaakhiyaan. Irrfan, who never minces his words clearly disapproved of the casting.
In an interview with Subhash K Jha once, the Piku actor opened up about SRK, Jr AB, and others being considered to play Sahir Ludhianvi and reacted, “No, that is a mistake. Only I can play Sahir.”
Further elaborating on his connection and love with the legendary poet, Irrfan said, “Before him, romantic songs were written in a particular way. Then, this man came along and completely changed the idiom and style of romantic expression. He wrote, Maine tumse hi nahin sabse mohabbat ki hai, for a film called Didi. Sahir wrote poetry that expressed the hopes and aspirations of the generation that came after Independence. Now, we’ve accepted the defeat of that hope. The biggest defeat is our acceptance of the foreign model of existence.”
Irrfan was obsessed with playing the legendary poet on-screen. However, fate had other plans, and when he first broke the news of fighting a deadly disease, the project surely slipped away from his hands. But even after years, it has not been revived yet, with reports and rumors of Sanjay Leela Bhansali ready to roll it with Shah Rukh Khan at times and Abhishek Bachchan at times.
Over the years after Kareena Kapoor Khan, the name of Priyanka Chopra also cropped up to play Amrita Pritam. But all rumors and no confirmation from any parties. The last reports on the film said that Bhansali is gearing up for the film with Abhishek Bachchan playing Sahir Ludhianvi while he still searches for an Amrita Pritam.
To revisit more such highly ambitious projects that never started, stay tuned to Koimoi.
