Bonding big time on the Coimbatore sets of Shah Rukh Khan’s Billo Barber with the Bollywood Badshah, has been actor Irrfan Khan. A kind of hatke friendship has developed between the two Khans that traces its origins back to Delhi in 1986, when both were into theatre. In Billo Barber, SRK plays a filmstar and Irrfan the barber. And Irrfan, whose run of films includes international exposure in Mira Nair’s Namesake and Brad Pitt’s A Mighty Heart, has come away from Coimbatore mighty impressed with Shah Rukh. “His humility is noteworthy, he doesn’t have any air of stardom, and he’s so much like any other ordinary guy that it’s an absolute treat to be his costar,” said Irrfan.
Nights, after the pack-up had been ordered, was party time off the sets. And SRK, a game freak, taught Irrfan how to play Dumb Charade. “He’s a champion at it, I’m a buddhu, and even though I was sloshed, SRK took it upon himself to teach me this game,” recalled Irrfan. “In the beginning, I was an embarrassment, a total disaster, but by the third round I could do it right.”
He remembers seeing SRK for the first time at a play rehearsal in Delhi in 1986. “I was an NSD student and he was with Barry John. Somehow, even though it was dark in the auditorium, his face stayed on in my mind,” added Irrfan pensively.
