No one knew this until now. Irrfan’s son Babil has played his father, albeit in one shot, in Tanuja Chandra’s Qarib Qarib Singlle, which turned 6 year old on November 10.
Speaking on the same, Tanuja says, “We used Babil as a body double, and in an extreme wide shot too .He was assisting the Director of Photography–Irrfan wanted him to go through the grind and requested our DP– and we needed him to just sit in the cab that goes under the train on the bridge overhead. Made Babil wear his clothes and sit in the car. He was a great substitute.”
Speaking of the charming romcom about two mismatched travelers, Tanuja says, “It’s 6 years actually of Qarib Qarib Singlle and I still receive with utter regularity, messages of love for the film and for Irrfan. It’s a film that has become more loved over time and that fills my heart with joy.”
Tanuja reveals that Qarib Qarib Singlle was based on a radio play. “ Imagine, it’s an old radio play which my mom(renowned writer Kamna Chandra) wrote, which 20 years later, my Co-writer, Gazal Dhaliwal and I, made into a screenplay about contemporary times, that Zee studio excitedly produced, which so many people relate to.”
Tanuja who hasn’t directed a film since QQS still gets compliments for the film. “ One of the nicest compliments I recently got from a stranger on social media was that ‘Yogi was all green flags’ and that today is a small miracle, given the dating scene! Also, another one from a single woman who said she hopes to find such love though she’s told she way past the marriage age. And another one said they wish Irrfan was still there to give them more cinematic happiness.
So for me QQS is a gift that keeps giving. We retained the name Yogi from my mother’s radio play. It was just apt. And Irrfan was the best Yogi there could be.”