Babil Khan, son of the late Irrfan Khan, is making his debut with the Netflix film Qala. It is generally believed that star kids have it easy when it comes to getting the first break. But Babil says that that wasn’t the case with him since he has had to struggle like any other newcomer.
In a chat with Hindustan Times, Babil said, “I don’t think my mother (producer Sutapa Sikdar) can ever pick up the phone and ask for a favour. I have to go give auditions nahi to aisi maar padegi ghar pe (else I would get a thrashing at home). That is our sanskaar. There is no possibility of breaking that. Even now, I am giving auditions and I get rejected a lot. Even today, if there is an audition I really want to crack and I mess it up, she will be so angry at me. But she will never pick up the phone and say, ‘kara do isko’. That is against our values. I think people also understand that.”
Directed by Anvita Dutt, Qala also stars Tripti Dimri and Swastika Mukherjee. The film is based in the film industry of the 1940s.
Babil knows the kind of expectations people have for him because of him being the son of the great Irrfan Khan. “I am always comparing myself to the legacy…you know, bhaar hai,” he added. “I am a person who wants to give the best when I am doing something. We shot this (Qala) two years ago. I have grown as an actor a lot. So, I always wonder ‘I wish I would have done this or that’. But I also believe that whatever art you make has its own journey and you can’t bring your own ego into it.”
Looking back at his father’s way of working, Babil said, “Baba’s entire work was always about the connect with people. He didn’t care about awards, or who was producing or directing him. He just knew he had to play this character and he would draw that from the people. That has come into me as well.”
Qala will stream on Netflix from 2nd December.
