Anurag Basu Opens Up On Legendary Collaborations With Irrfan, Pritam
MUMBAI (IANS) – Director Anurag Basu, whose latest film is ‘Metro…In Dino,’ recently shared his memories of working with the late actor Irrfan and the late singer KK during ‘Life in a Metro’.
Basu recounted his persistent efforts to persuade Irrfan for ‘Life in a Metro’, a process complicated by his own poor narration skills. He admitted his narration affected Irrfan’s judgment of the script. “I had chased Irrfan,” Basu said. “When I narrated the story to him, he thought his role was not very meaty. I couldn’t give him confidence that his role was truly good. So, I called Sutapa [Sikdar, Irrfan’s wife] and asked her to please convince him.” She eventually did.
“When we shot the first scene with him, he was very happy,” Basu noted. He remembered a call from Sutapa while shooting in Juhu. “The scene was halfway through, she said, ‘Irrfan is very happy’. I told her, ‘He’s not telling me. He’s telling you?’ (laughs). All those memories with Irrfan are priceless.”
Basu also spoke about his experience with KK, mentioning that music composer Pritam specifically wanted KK to sing the cult-classic song ‘Alvida’. “Pritam really wanted KK to sing ‘Alvida’,” Basu said. “I remember he came from Pune. Those are very fond and pleasant memories.”
Basu had previously stated that ‘Metro…In Dino’ feels more like Pritam’s film than his own. The two have collaborated for almost 20 years, with ‘Metro…In Dino’ marking their latest joint effort. “When you see the film as a whole, you will understand how music is crucial for this film. It’s like a thread, a string to tie everything together,” Basu explained.
On their consistent ability to create chartbuster music, Basu remarked, “It just happens. We have very similar choices in everything – from food to music. I remember some songs, and no one else in the room remembers them except Pritam. Our taste in music and the artists we follow are very similar. There is no separate process for making a song and then a story.”
