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Imran Khan is back on the big screen after a decade with a cameo in Happy Patel and the actor says his return is driven by a desire to reconnect and make movies for the sheer joy of it. Over the past two years, Imran sifted through numerous scripts but found none that sparked interest until he heard about Happy Patel, which marks the directorial debut of his Delhi Belly co-star and friend Vir Das.
“In late 2023, when I started reemerging from my hibernation, and connecting with the world, people said, ‘Hey, this guy is alive’ and started reaching out. (But) My approach at this point is very different from what it was back then,” the actor, who was last seen on screen in 2015 film, Katti Batti, told PTI in an interview.
“Not everybody wants the same thing from their careers. Everyone’s got different paths that they’re seeking. I’m not seeking to build myself into a very big star, to be the biggest star or to be in the top three. Unless I love the film and really want to make it, I won’t… I will only make a film if I feel FOMO (fear of missing out),” he said.
Acknowledging that he is financially secure, Imran — best known for rom-coms like Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Naa, I Hate Luv Storys, and Break Ke Baad — said at this point in his life, he prefers working alongside friends and like-minded individuals.
“The reason that I ever made films was to play with my friends. We get a bunch of friendly people together, we paint our faces, we put on costumes and we play (the part). That’s how I see moviemaking. Not to take away from how seriously one takes the thing, but creating art must come from a place of love and joy,” he said.
Imran said when he heard that Das and another friend, actor Mithila Palkar, were working together on a “zany, spoofy spy comedy”, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of missing out.
“I’d not heard a narration or a script, it’s the buzz that I was getting from my friends. I was struck with FOMO. I was like, ‘Guys, you’re all doing this fun thing. Can I also come along and have fun with you guys?’ “I texted Vir saying, ‘I would love to be in your film, can you include me somewhere?’. So, he wrote me a part, which was not in the original script and said, ‘Let’s have some fun’.” Imran said Das is one of the best stand-up comedians in India and he loves attending his comedy shows across the world.
Happy Patel, which released in theatres on Friday, is a quirky spy comedy. It is a reunion between Imran and Das after Delhi Belly (2011), and with Palkar after Katti Batti (2015).
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In the film, Imran takes on the role of Milind Morea, an international supermodel. He and Das had planned to keep the news of his cameo a “secret”, hoping to “surprise” audiences when they saw him in the theatre. However, the news leaked immediately.
The 43-year-old actor admitted that he was surprised to see himself in the film’s trailer and never anticipated the attention and interest it would generate. He added that he has not actively tried to stay relevant during his hiatus.
“It’s (attention) all a lot more than one would have imagined. When you consider all of the conventional wisdom that tells you that you must make great efforts to stay in people’s consciousness and to stay relevant, you’ve to reach out and grab them and hold their attention,” he said.
“Again, because up until this moment, it’s not like I had suddenly made a great film that everyone was appreciating, ‘Oh, what a wonderful film, what great acting is’, it’s none of that. People responded a lot more than (expected),” Imran added.
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Imran said he chose to take a step back from acting after a bunch of his films including Katti Batti and Gori Tere Pyaar Mein failed at the box office. “…At first, you’ve that feeling, ‘Oh, no, my film has flopped’. I had made the films with love and with friends. I enjoyed the process,” he recounted.
