Did you know that Irrfan’s son Babil has played his father, albeit in just one shot, in Tanuja Chandra’s Qarib Qarib Singlle?
“We used Babil as a body double, and in an extreme wide shot too,” explains Tanuja about the romcom that turns six on November 10.
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“He was assisting the director of photography — Irrfan wanted him to go through the grind — and we needed him to just sit in the cab that goes under the train on the bridge overhead. We made Babil wear Irrfan’s clothes and sit in the car. He was a great substitute.”
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,” she says.
Tanuja, who hasn’t directed a film since QQS, still gets compliments for the film.
“I still receive messages of love for the film and Irrfan with utter regularity. It’s a film that has become more loved over time and that fills my heart with joy,” she says.
“One of the nicest compliments I got from a stranger on social media was that Irrfan 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’s way past the marriage age. Another said they wish Irrfan was still there to give them more cinematic happiness.
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“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.”
