'Angrezi Medium' has changed me as a person, says director Homi Adajania

Director Homi Adajania has come out a better person after working with Irrfan Khan on "Angrezi Medium", as the time he spent with the actor gave him a new perspective on life.

Irrfan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018. The actor stayed away from the public eye as he underwent treatment in the UK. He started filming for "Angrezi Medium" in April last year.

"'Angrezi Medium' has changed me as a person. It has made me a better, lighter person. The way I would approach a film before, I was finicky about the actor not giving me right pitch and things that are not in your control. All that has gone out of the window.

"I will probably make films more often now as I have realised that there is a light way of making films. One should chill, have fun, enjoy while making a movie and it will all come through. This is the way one should be. I am not going to take these characters home and cry, fret and shout, it is not necessary. As a life lesson I learnt why do we make things complicated and fret about it," Homi told PTI in an interview.

The filmmaker, best known for films "Being Cyrus", "Cocktail" and "Finding Fanny", believes Irrfan has played a huge part in his transformation.

"That is the only reason to change. The resilience, strength and spirit that guy has, considering he was under treatment and to be able to see that, who are you to complain about anything? Bizarrely we were feeding off his strength rather than him feeding off ours. It was a different experience for everyone who was involved. It was a magical journey."

Homi said the team of film never "tip-toed" around the actor's health issues.

"We never lied about it. Irrfan didn't want pity or sympathy from us, he just wanted love and support. Suddenly when everyone was being like that, it gave us a glimpse that the world can be like this. And there was never tip-toeing about the matter.

"He loved the fact that we could cry, laugh about him being sick and sometimes get frustrated about him being sick but there was never any filter."

The director said Irrfan has seen the rough cut of "Angrezi Medium" and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

"When I went and showed him the trailer, he chuckled like a baby. It was so good to see it. He enjoyed the rough cut of the movie and more than that it brought back the memories of the shoot. At some level, it was an experience which we didn't want it to get over. When it got over there was so much to take away."

"Angrezi Medium" is a sequel to 2017's sleeper hit "Hindi Medium", which talked about the class divide. The new film, Homi said, explores parent-child relationship.

The film focuses on a father (Irrfan) and his daughter (Radhika Madan), who wishes to study abroad. It chronicles the difficulties he faces in order to fulfil her dream.

Produced by Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films, "Angrezi Medium", also features Deepak Dobriyal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranvir Shorey, Dimple Kapadia, Zakir Hussain, and Pankaj Tripathi.

It is scheduled to be released on March 13.