Radhika Madan: Irrfan sir taught me to always be a student

We were going to shoot a very important scene in the film. I was very nervous about it and I was just roaming with the script here and there. I saw a tall man doing the same thing and wondered who is the person doing the same thing.

Mumbai: For actress Radhika Madan, her film ‘Angrezi Medium’ will always remain close to her heart. As the film completed one year of its release on Saturday, she recalled working with late actor Irrfan Khan, who passed away in April 2020.

Speaking to IANS, Radhika, who played the role of ‘Tarika’, revealed how one incident during the film’s shoot gave her learning for a lifetime.

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“We were going to shoot a very important scene in the film. I was very nervous about it and I was just roaming with the script here and there. I saw a tall man doing the same thing and wondered who is the person doing the same thing. Then, when I went closer I realized it was Irrfan sir.”

Radhika said, “I got to learn that it must have been his nth film and he was still a student. He still got tense before an important scene, he was still rehearsing. It was such a big lesson and my favorite memory from the sets. He was still a student and I would want to imbibe that in me. I learned that I should never stop being a student, no matter what. I got to learn a lot about my craft from him.”

Irrfan passed away after battling neuroendocrine tumor for a year. However, his mere presence on the sets taught Radhika a great deal.

“First of all the film had such an ensemble cast where I could just sit and learn so much. I didn’t have to do anything. Everyone was a ‘diggaj’ (dignitary) if I may say so. I think Irrfan sir said the most when he didn’t say anything. His eyes, demeanour, everything was so expressive. So words were not important when it comes to him,” said Radhika, who will next be seen in the film ‘Shiddat’.

The actress also revealed that everyone on the sets of Homi Adajania directorial kept Irrfan’s health a priority.

“We used to take care of him and we were told that his shots would be taken first and his health was our priority. I didn’t get the opportunity to talk to him one-on-one a lot because he had to conserve his energy a lot. He didn’t have to say anything and he could still teach the other person so many things by the way he was,” said Radhika.