Nawazuddin Siddiqui considers Irrfan Khan’s demise ‘a huge personal loss’

Nawazuddin Siddiqui possessed one of the closest friendships with Irrfan Khan and as a result of that, his passing took a huge personal toll on him.

During an interview with Hindustan Times, Nawazuddin Siddiqui opened up on his relationship with Irrfan Khan, stating, “He always treated me like a younger brother. And for me also, he was like an elder brother and a mentor. I used to share all my problems – personal as well as professional – with him.”

During the course of the interview he admitted that he knew Irrfan “from even before 2000” stating, “Isliye kaafi lamba saath raha unke saath (that’s why we have had a long relationship). I was very close to Irrfan bhai, so I used to be with him, or around him a lot. He was also my first-ever co-star, and an actor whom I worked the most with, and that includes a number of films that never even released. And it’s a secret that when he recoded [audition] tapes for Hollywood films, I would also give him cues (smiles).”

One of the most pivotal times in their friendship was when Irrfan took Siddiqui to sit in with Danny Boyle while he conversed on Slumdog Millionaire: “and that too without any appointment [for me; with Danny]. He really wanted me to meet Danny.”

Unknown to many, Irrfan Khan directed an hour-long film titled Alvida. “It was a BBC film, in which I was the hero. And what a gifted director he was. If Irrfan bhai was a director and not an actor, he would have been as big a director too,” he says, adding: “As an actor, we would miss the originality and authenticity he would bring to his work. Ek alag tarah ki casualness, ease aur unpredictability laate the apne characters mein, which was unique about him.”