Irrfan Khan cried when he watched Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s New York monologue, reveals Kabir Khan

Irrfan Khan was once brought to tears when he watched a single-take performance by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, filmmaker Kabir Khan has revealed. Kabir signed Nawazuddin for a small role in Katrina Kaif and John Abraham 2009 starrer New York. (Also read: Bigg Boss OTT 2: Aaliya Siddiqui alleges Pooja Bhatt is using her dad’s name)

Nawazuddin essayed the role of Zilgai in the film. It was a man who was arrested as a suspect after 9/11 and tortured while in custody. Almost a decade after he first discovered Nawaz’s talent, Kabir reunited with him for the blockbuster Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which featured Nawazuddin alongside Kareena Kapoor and Salman Khan.

Nawaz’s audition for New York

Recalling Nawazuddin’s casting in the film, Kabir told Humans of Cinema in an interview that after watching New York, many people asked him “Ye case study aapko kaha mila (Where did you find this case study)”. The filmmaker added that people thought Nawaz was a real person, and not an actor. He also said that casting directors were not as huge back then and his team of assistants used to take auditions. “In all my career, I have only seen one audition,and that happens to be Nawaz’s.”

Irrfan had tears watching Nawaz

Kabir recalled the day they shot Nawaz’s monologue for the 2009 film and said that when they took Nawaz to New York for the shoot, it was his first time abroad. “It was a non-stop three-four minutes’ take and I never took another take… because when I said cut, some of the people in the crew were crying and some of them were clapping. I remember Irrfan walking in half an hour later. He told me ‘everyone’s talking about Nawaz’s performance’. I took Irrfan to the monitor and I played it and as he was watching it, tears were streaming down Irrfan’s face. He asked ‘kaha hai yaar Nawaz (Where is Nawaz),’ went and hugged Nawaz. What a moment it was.”

Irrfan and Nawaz later worked together in films such as The Lunchbox and Bypaas.