HT Brunch Cover Story: His Baba’s Babil

The smile is the same, as is the stark intensity in the eyes. But Babil Khan, 24, seems adamant to leave every comparison you draw to his father, Irrfan Khan, unfulfilled.

For starters, he’s far more likely to flash an impetuous smile than his thoughtful father ever was. His fashion-forward sensibility is more excessive than one would imagine on his father.

Is Babil Khan’s strong individual identity yet another star kid’s way of battling the questions that come with privilege?

Babil makes his debut in Bulbul director Anvita Dutt’s psychological drama, Qala, which releases on Netflix next month. Unlike regular star kids, he isn’t being launched by a big studio with a big splash, nor is he the protagonist in his first film.

When asked why, he shrugs, “I don’t know, and quite frankly, I don’t care. I just really love to act. The words ‘debut’ and ‘launch’ have never interested me. I truly believe that they make the individual bigger than the story being told, which doesn’t feel right to me. If I wasn’t Irrfan Khan’s son, nobody would care about my debut, and I think that’s just how it should be. The joy of being recognised by your work is so much greater than inheriting recognition.”

Babil Khan’s sensible words may have the ability to shush the harshest finger pointers, but we aren’t done putting the young man to the test yet.

An interview you gave to a magazine earlier this year indicated that your father may have been an absentee parent. You talked about a play where he hadn’t turned up…

Babil tackles the question like a pro. “He was just a very busy man,” he says. “He would be filming a lot and I would go visit him. Yes, he didn’t show up for that 8th grade performance. He wouldn’t show up for any school events or PTMs, he couldn’t remember any of our birthdays, but that’s just how it was. If I were to look deeper within myself to see why it hurt at the time, I’d say it was just a societal convention that I subconsciously feared not fitting into. It was just because everybody else had their father there, so why not me? These are the mind’s primitive survival insecurities; if I observe those desires for what they are instead of blowing them out of proportion in my mind, they lose all their significance. So, apart from that performance that he didn’t show up for, it didn’t truly affect me that he wouldn’t make it to these things, because our bond was incredibly solid. Our relationship was not like a father-son relationship; there was a degree of openness and comfort that I don’t think you could achieve by following conventions. He was my bestest friend in the world and we laughed together a lot, I don’t remember the last time I laughed like I used to laugh with him. Our bond would make up for all his absences.”

In his own words

It was at that 8th grade performance of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors that young Babil Khan first knew he wanted to be an actor. The precise moment was when he forgot his lines!

“I think we were doing a good job with the play,” says Babil. “Everybody was nailing the Shakespearean language just like how it should be done, but I also remember feeling distinctly that the audience seemed bored. Watching 8th graders have their life sucked out on stage by Shakespeare was not the most fun thing to watch.

“Then, it so happened that I went back on stage and forgot all my lines as we neared the second half of the play,” continues Babil. “So, I started to improvise… in Hindi! The moment that happened, the audience erupted in laughter. That feeling of being fearless in a state of surrender, and then having your audience respond, that moment was pure magic for me.”

A deserving man

Babil may have developed this fondness for acting on his own, but surely he knows that words like ‘privilege’ and ‘nepotism’ are going to be thrown at him.

“I think it’s important to be aware of your privilege; that’s the first step. If you are aware, then you can be grateful for it, and if you’re grateful, then you automatically never take your opportunities for granted,” says Babil, sounding many years wiser than he is. “In the world of art and cinema, the artiste and the audience, we’re like a family; it’s a collective evolution and that relationship is sacred for me. It is extremely important for me to reflect on how my existence, my actions and my journey are affecting the emotions of others. I was raised to respect, with sincere kindness, the way I make somebody else feel. Hence, if the positioning of my journey makes another feel like there is something unfair about it, then it becomes my responsibility to make sure that I prove to them that I deserve to be there; through relentless hard work and humility.”

Shah Rukh Khan’s son, Aryan, said in an interview that he wouldn’t want to be an actor because the comparisons would be crushing. As individual as he is, doesn’t Babil fear those?

“I love it [acting] too much!” he says. “The question for me was always whether I love acting enough to deal with everything else, and I do. I also tend not to think so much when I’m following my passion. The comparisons will always weigh heavy because I’m 24 years old and it will take me a long time to be an artiste like my father, but I do believe that I have the right genetics, upbringing, talent and attitude to be somebody that his fans are proud of. I believe I have it in me.”

The first rejection

Long before Babil landed Qala, and well after his 8th grade performance, the young man faced rejection at the hands of Ang Lee when he auditioned for Life of Pi.

“I think it was because that character was supposed to be the younger version of Baba, and I just looked so much like him that it was an inevitability to audition me for the role,” explains Babil. “But I was too young and too nervous, and my voice was shivering and my knees were weak… (laughs) So, yeah, I didn’t get the part.”

Not one to be beat down though, Babil’s excitement is palpable as he talks about his role in Qala. “My character in the film, Jagran, and the innocence with which he lives in dedication to his craft, makes him oblivious to how it is affecting Qala,” explains the young actor. “I was too new and extremely fresh from my father’s demise when I shot the film, so my biggest challenge was the emotional annihilation in my personal life that I was dealing with and how to not let it affect my work. It’s been two years since, and I have grown substantially as an actor; so there is always the desire that ‘I wish I could have played Jagran today.”

Dad’s the word

Of course, the last word must belong to one that comes from his father. “Baba was adamant in making me aware of how easily our minds get conditioned into thinking that just because everyone is doing it, it is what should be done,” says Babil. “It was important to him that we didn’t think or feel like that. I am so grateful today to have developed those qualities in me. He brought us up to be fearless in being different.”

Everyone’s talking about Babil

Two filmmakers hold forth on the young actor

Filmmaker Tanuja Chandra, on whose film [Qarib Qarib Singlle] Babil worked as a camera assistant

“Babil was still a teenager when we made QQS. He was enthusiastic, fun, inquisitive and sincere. He was also good with being reprimanded if he slacked on the job at all. I really liked having him on the set and honestly, he was so much like Irrfan in appearance, we even used him as a double in a few song shots!

However, interestingly, I’m not reminded as much of Irrfan when I see Babil in the trailer of his film. He does have some of Irrfan’s features, of course, but he also looks different. Which I think is great.

But yes, the lineage is a mighty one and I do hope viewers won’t make comparisons at every step of the way. That would be unfair. Those shoes are not to be filled and it would be wonderful if Babil has his unique tenor and style. Wouldn’t it be much more exciting if he was completely different from his father?!”

Anvita Dutt, director of his first film, Qala

What drew you to Babil?

“My DA Rabia suggested his name. And then Casting Bay auditioned him. It was his audition that made the difference.”

What is Babil Khan like as a young boy?

“Ambitious.”

And as an actor?

“He has got great screen presence.”

Did the fact that he was Irrfan’s son mean anything?

“His identity is his own. And not his lineage. It was Rabia’s opinion and his audition that got him the role.”

Follow @JamalShaikh on Instagram and Twitter

From HT Brunch, November 26, 2022

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