Bollywood filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri recently opened up about working with the late Irrfan Khan in his directorial debut, Chocolate. In an interview with Mashable India, he reflected on Irrfan’s unique acting style, his on-screen chemistry with Anil Kapoor, and the actor’s personality off set.

Vivek Agnihotri opened up on working with Irrfan Khan

Vivek described Irrfan’s death as a great loss and said, “I wrote a very philosophical article. I really miss him. He was a great person. Irrfan was an astounding artist, and I really enjoyed working with him. He’d never let you know what he would deliver on camera. He rehearsed something else and gave a completely different take. I realised he was very spontaneous. He understood the soul of the scene and then enacted it according to his own interpretation. His co-actors would never realise what he was going to do.”

He further shared, “Anil Kapoor would follow the script as written. He’s a different kind of performer, full of energy. On the contrary, when Irrfan sat, you’d think he had no energy. Anil Kapoor wondered how they would do the scene because Irrfan didn’t rehearse. But if you watch their scenes together in Chocolate, they are brilliant. It was like a competition between the two, about who could surprise more in a scene. Both of them were such experienced actors.”

Vivek also remembered the lighter moments after filming. He revealed that while everyone would gather in his room for drinks, Irrfan often dozed off anywhere and had to be carried back to his room. “Off-set he was a completely different person,” Vivek recalled.

Irrfan Khan passed away in April 2020 at the age of 53, following a battle with a neuroendocrine tumour.

About Chocolate

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri in 2005, the crime thriller featured Anil Kapoor, Sunil Shetty, Emraan Hashmi, Irrfan Khan, Arshad Warsi, Tanushree Dutta and Sushma Reddy in key roles. The film was inspired by the 1995 American classic The Usual Suspects.

Vivek Agnihotri’s upcoming film

Vivek is currently awaiting the release of his next directorial, The Bengal Files. Starring Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi and Darshan Kumar, the film is based on the 1946 Great Calcutta Killings and the Noakhali riots. It is scheduled to release in theatres on 5 September.