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Tigmanshu says Irrfan would want him to make this biopic
30 Apr 2026

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia recently revealed that he had initially planned a biopic on Mughal-E-Azam director K Asif with late actor Irrfan Khan.

Speaking at a special screening of the documentary A Story That Refused to Die, Dhulia shared how he feels Khan is encouraging him to complete the project even after his demise.

"I wanted to do this film with Irrfan and I know that Irrfan isn't stopping me and is rather saying, 'Make this film,'" he said.

'The film on which I've been working for...'
Shared vision

Dhulia reminisced about his discussions with Khan in the late 1980s at Delhi's National School of Drama.

He said, "The film on which I've been working for long time and it all started with my conversation with Irrfan, that we will work on this film someday."

Dhulia directed Khan in his 2003 directorial debut Haasil, and later worked on Charas, Paan Singh Tomar, and Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns.

'We would often discuss one scene...'
Fond recollections

Dhulia remembered, "We would often discuss one scene, which was the spine of the film, and that would set the 'sur' of the film."

"That's what I would do on every film that I did with him."

Dhulia also spoke about other projects that didn't see the light of day, like Ghulami and The Killing of a Porn Filmmaker.

'After three days of shooting, the producer stopped the film...'
Unfinished business

Dhulia revealed, "For Ghulami, we had a huge set, and we had started shooting."

"It was about my favourite period of history, 1857. We had got the weapons, costumes, actors from London, juniors, artists, horses, etc."

"After three days of shooting, the producer stopped the film because of monetary reasons."

"It was an expensive film, and two years of our hard work came to a halt."

Why 'Haasil' didn't get sent for National Award consideration
Award woes

Dhulia also expressed regret over Haasil not being sent for National Award consideration due to a dispute with the producers.

"The film usually is sent for National award along with a money order but the producers had so much problem with me that they didn't send it," he said.

Despite this, Khan won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Paan Singh Tomar.