Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 18, 2014)

When Irrfan Khan agreed to play a black marketeer in The Xpose he did not expect to see his face on the film’s posters.

 “It’s a cameo, just one day’s shoot, and I did it for Himesh (actor-producer Himesh Reshammiya) who has made the film with a lot of passion. So I was a little surprised to find that they had put me in the first poster that was unveiled,” admitted the actor to Mirror just before he flew out to Hawaii to shoot for Jurrasic World.

 Irrfan added that he even had a “little chat” with the producer on the matter because he felt that playing him up in the promotions might deceive the audience into believing that he had a longer role when it was no more than a special appearance, as has been mentioned in the credits. “I told them to be more careful in the future,” he said.

 When contacted, the film's director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan said that he is not aware of any written agreement between Irrfan and the producer about the use of his image in the film's publicity. “I only had a few creative meetings with him."

 Added Ananth, "Irrfan features in just four scenes but he’s the narrator and strings the film together and even features in a song in the end credits. It’s not a passing guest appearance. It may not be a full-fledged role but his character, Alec D'Costa, is vital to the plot. Yes, Irrfan is there in the posters and the film's trailer too but it should not be misconstrued that he is the leading man.”