Babil Khan was in Jaipur recently to attend an event hosted on his father Irrfan’s birth anniversary. Babil tells us, “With a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, I could feel the warmth of the beautiful relationship my father shared with people in his hometown Jaipur. The joy of meeting his fans and friends is inexplicable. When people say that I remind them of my father, they make me happy. It’s a validation for me and motivates me.”

Babil loves penning his thoughts and has written poems dedicated to his dad. Does he see himself writing a book on Irrfan? He says, “I don’t know if I would ever like to dedicate a book to my father. What we shared is too personal. I don’t want to put that on paper. My writings (songs and poetry) did help me navigate through my emotional highs and lows.”

Talking about how he realised his dream to make a career in cinema, he shares, “I think the first time I discovered that I could be an actor was in Class VIII, when I took part in a school play based on William Shakespeare’s The Comedy Of Errors. However, my desire to be an actor was always suppressed. I was so weighed down by the fear of being compared to Baba that I could never consider a career in showbiz. It took me a lot of time to accept that I could pursue acting as a career.”

Like other celebrity kids, Babil confesses to having felt the pressure of measuring up to a celebrity father. He says, “Of course, I still feel the pressure of being a celebrity kid, but I have realized that a true worth of a man is best realized when he has to deliver his best amid all the pressure. While my friends are enjoying life and falling in love, I am sitting at home and reading scripts because I cannot mess up my auditions, as I am Irrfan’s son.”

When asked if he’d like to trace back Irrfan’s acting journey, Babil says, “During my next trip to Jaipur, I want to go to Ravindra Manch and see the place that gave birth to Irrfan, the actor. I don’t want to visit that place as an actor, but as a son. My growth and journey as an actor has to be different from Baba’s journey.”

Before signing his debut film Qala, Babil had auditioned for 30 other projects. He says, “I have accepted the fact that being Irrfan’s son is a privilege, but it has not added to my market value. I have given more than 30 auditions in the past year. In fact, I had to audition for Qala thrice before I got picked. I have landed all my projects after auditions, after the makers were satisfied with my mettle as an actor.”