Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar recently revisited a lesser-known anecdote about his late collaborator Irrfan Khan, revealing how the actor’s instinct for romance almost reshaped the ending of their 2015 film Piku.

Speaking at a special screening of A Story That Refused to Die — a documentary on Paan Singh Tomar — Sircar reflected on Irrfan’s nuanced personality, particularly a softer, romantic streak that audiences rarely knew about.

“Not many people know that Irrfan was a romantic person. While we were shooting the last sequence of ‘Piku’ where they (Deepika and Irrfan) are playing badminton and then it was cut,” Sircar said.

“Irrfan came to me and said, ‘Should I not go inside (the house)?’ I was like, ‘Why do you want to go inside?’. He was like, ‘I should rather go inside (the house), since it’s a romantic film, and the house help comes, I’ll go.' I was like, ‘We can shoot it as an option’ and he insisted that I keep this in the final edit. We shot that but I didn’t keep it during the final edit,” Sircar added.

Piku follows the evolving bond between a headstrong daughter and her ageing father, played by Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan. Irrfan’s character, Rana Chaudhary — a witty taxi business owner — becomes an unlikely yet significant part of their journey to Kolkata.

Irrfan, known for his versatile roles in Paan Singh Tomar, The Lunchbox, Hindi Medium, and Maqbool, died at the age of 54 in April 2020 after battling cancer.

Even after Irrfan’s death, his presence continues to shape Sircar’s storytelling, the filmmaker said.

“Whenever I write something, I think of Irrfan. He would bring soul and heart to a film without doing much, but just being there. When I would write something, I would be rest assured that Irrfan is there in the film and he will add something and it will make sense,” Sircar said.

A Story That Refused to Die was screened on Irrfan’s sixth death anniversary on April 29 at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.

The documentary left Sircar deeply moved. He said that it captured something Irrfan often spoke about — the elusive, enduring magic of cinema.

“We know how difficult it is to shoot behind-the-scenes of a film. But the magic of cinema is such that I was enjoying watching it, I was glued into this documentary. Irrfan also would often talk about the magic of cinema," the filmmaker, known for films like Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe, Sardar Uddham and I Want To Talk, added.