Film maker Tigmanshu Dhulia He has shared updates on his much-anticipated biopic on legendary filmmaker K. Asif, the director of ‘Mughal-E-Azam’. The project, which has been in development for years, was initially conceptualized with the late actor Irrfan Khan.Tigmanshu Dhulia said that he remains fully committed to completing the film. He highlighted that the story will be based on the short but influential career of K. Asif and his struggles in creating the iconic 1960 epic Mughal-E-Azam.
Inspired by conversations with Irrfan Khan
At a special screening of A Story That Refused to Die, a documentary about Paan Singh Tomar, Dhulia opened up about her deep creative bond with Irrfan Khan. He shared that the idea for the biopic came from long discussions between the two. He explained how the two shared a great desire to work together on the project. The filmmaker said their conversations formed the emotional basis of the film’s idea.Tigmanshu Dhulia explained that the biopic was created around their mutual admiration driven by a powerful story and characters. The narrative would explore the journey of K. Asif in the making of Mughal-E-Azam. He emphasized that the project is not about a filmmaker, but also about the emotional and artistic challenges behind one of the greatest classics of Indian cinema. The vision remains closely related to the conversations with Irrfan.
Following the journey after the loss of Irrfan Khan
The filmmaker has admitted that Irrfan’s absence has made for an emotional journey, but he still feels connected to him. He stated that despite the death of the actor, he finds the motivation to complete the film.“The film I’ve been working on for a long time—it all started with my conversation with Irrfan—we’re going to work on this film someday, and we’re going to make this film; it was a biopic on K. Asif, director of ‘Mughal-E-Azam’.”Tigmanshu Dhulia added that he still feels the actor’s presence guides him creatively and pushes him forward. “I wanted to do this film with Irrfan, and I know Irrfan is not going to stop me and say, ‘Do this film’.”Dhulia and Irrfan’s collaboration began at the National School of Drama in Delhi in the late 1980s. The duo worked together in several films, starting in 2003 with ‘Haasil’, Dhulia’s directorial debut. They later collaborated on projects like ‘Charas’, ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ and ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns’.Dhulia recalled their unique working style, where discussions in a single key scene would shape the emotional core of an entire film. “We often discussed a scene, which was the focus of the film, and that would set the ‘core’ of the film. That’s what I would do in every film I did with him,” Dhulia said at the event.Irrfan Khan died on April 29, 2020 at the age of 54 after battling a rare neuroendocrine tumor.
