Babil Khan Shares Emotional Message Remembering Dad Irrfan: 'You Left Before I Could Make You Proud'

After his debut performance in a supporting role in the 2022 film Qala, Babil Khan is gearing up for the premiere of Friday Night Plan, his second acting venture, this time as a headliner. Babil is the son of the late actor Irrfan Khan and is often compared to his legendary father. In a recent interview, he shared that his father’s “greatness” scared him from accepting his wish to become an actor.

During an interview with Film Companion, Babil was asked if comparisons with Irrfan had affected his debut. He said, “You don’t know you have that passion inside you, you need life experiences to push you toward your passion.” Talking about Irrfan, he added, “I used to fear his greatness. As a 16-year-old when you start realizing you want to do something with your life and your father is already a larger-than-life figure… That’s why it took me so long to confront my own passion, my own desire.”

Talking about his father’s iconic career and what sets the duo apart, he said, “He took a lot of time. People saw him when he was in his 30s and 40s. He took a long time to react instinctively, his process was more intellectual. I have the instinctive ability, I am good at trusting my instincts. But when you are on set, when the pressure is mounting on you that’s the place where your fearlessness really shows. I am still to realize the complete potential of my instincts but I know at my core that’s my USP.”

Babil also shared a heartfelt message that he had for this father. “I wish you were here to see what I have grown up to be, you left before I could make you proud. That feeling of not being able to show him my work, and not being able to see him smile at what I have become, I am not saying that I have become something, just me as a person,” he said.

Babil’s Friday Night Plan, directed by Vatsal Neelakantan and produced by Excel Entertainment, is scheduled to be released on Netflix on September 1 this year.