*This title will be released on 14 February 2022

Irrfan Khan brought to the art of acting an inner truth and finesse rarely seen before in Indian cinema. As a man, he won the trust and affection of everybody who came in contact with him. As an actor, he inspired a diverse range of younger actors to abandon deception and remain true to their own selves.

Anup Singh, the director of two critically acclaimed films with Irrfan, takes us on a unique journey with this exceptional man and actor. In this book, he offers an intimate glimpse into the working relationship between a director and an actor as they trudge through mutual wariness, uncertainties, and blunders to a friendship founded firmly in creativity. As we travel with them to Punjab and Rajasthan and watch them at work on their films, we see in minute detail the devotion to hard work and the openness to uncertainty that make Irrfan’s performances so hypnotizing.

Anup Singh brings to life each encounter—whether with a hesitant co-actor or a love-struck crew member, a grove that seems to speak to Irrfan, a desert sky teeming with cranes circling overhead, a starving bullock ready to attack—that inspired and energised the gifted actor to continue his passionate dialogue with himself, his audience and the world.