Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Irrfan Khan bhai took me to meet Danny Boyle without an appointment – Exclusive! – Times of India

Ask him to share one precious memory from the iconic film and Nawaz shared, “For me, one of the best experiences was to shoot for the film in a packed train. An entire compartment was booked for our shoot, Irrfan bhai and I had got into our get-up for the movie and sat between the locals, common people. No one really realised but everyone just perfectly synced into our scene; that is the beauty of a local train. Even those who were not in our unit became a part of ‘The Lunchbox’.”

While it was reported that Irrfan and Nawazuddin were at loggerheads during the film, the latter puts all such rumours to rest, revealing, “Irrfan bhai was like my older brother and I have several precious memories of working with him, even before ‘The Luncbox’ happened. When the casting for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was going on, he took me to meet Danny Boyle without an appointment. Imagine walking in to meet such a big director without any prior notice. Finally, both of us were cast in the movie, but unfortunately, when the shoot began, I was busy with another movie. So, my part was then offered to another actor. I have learned a lot from Irrfan bhai… even how to meet a big Hollywood director without an appointment (laughs).”

Directed by Ritesh Batra, ‘The Lunchbox’ also starred Nimrat Kaur in the lead role. The film earned Rs 20 crore at the box office.