'Irrfan Khan was a romantic': Shoojit Sircar reveals how late actor shot for alternate ending with Deepika Padukone in ‘Piku’

Six years after the passing of the legendary Irrfan Khan, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar shared an intimate look at the actor's "romantic" side during a special screening on April 29, 2026. Speaking for the documentary 'A Story That Refused to Die,' which centers on the making of 'Paan Singh Tomar,' Sircar revealed how Irrfan’s instincts almost changed the ending of their 2015 hit, 'Piku.'Speaking at a special screening, Sircar fondly remembered Irrfan’s emotional depth and unique perspective as an actor.Sircar recalled the final sequence of 'Piku', “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."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,” Shoojit said.Irrfan Khan, the versatile star of films such as 'Paan Singh Tomar', 'The Lunchbox', 'Hindi Medium', and 'Maqbool', passed away in April 2020 at the age of 54 after battling cancer. His powerful performances and understated brilliance continue to leave a lasting impact on Indian cinema.Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, known for directing films like 'Vicky Donor', 'Madras Cafe', 'Sardar Udham', and 'I Want to Talk', shared that Irrfan remains a constant presence in his creative process.“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.”Further, the director said said he was captivated watching the documentary, which he felt, mirrored Irrfan's fascination about the 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," he added.