Critically acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan says that he turned down a role in a film by Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg alongside Scarlett Johansson because he didn’t find the role challenging enough.
“I didn’t feel the character offered to me gave me much scope, so I said ‘No’. Scarlett Johansson is an actor I would have loved to share screen space with,” he said during an interview with NDTV.
As one of the most sought-after Bollywood actors in Hollywood, this is not the first time Khan, 49, has turned down big international assignments. He said no to Ridley Scott's The Martian, because he was tied up with shooting Shoojit Sircar's Piku, which went on to become one of the most successful films in Bollywood in 2015.
Khan will, however, appear in Inferno, the Hollywood adaptation of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code sequel, starring Tom Hanks, which is due for release in October.
artslife@thenational.ae