Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia and late actor Irrfan met during their National School of Drama (NSD) days, and that’s where the foundation of their lifelong bond was laid. “I joined NSD in 1986 and he (Irrfan) was in the third year. Apni jodi bass bann gayi, and we both grew in our personal and professional lives together,” Dhulia, 56, shares as he remembers his “support system” on International Friendship Day today.

Irrfan, who died in April 2020, had once said in an interview about Dhulia, “Mera bahut aziz hai woh aur iklauta dost hai. Har janam mein main uska dost bana rahunga.”

With mutual feelings and a heavy heart, Dhulia shares with us, “Mera bhi koi dost ab bacha nahin hai... He was the only one jo meri saari galtiyon aur kamzoriyon ko jaanta tha. He knew all my plus and minus points. In front of him, I could just be myself. Now, when he has left us, it’s not an age when you make new friends.”

The two first worked together in the TV serial Naya Daur (1995). They went on to do several projects together, from Dhulia’s directorial film debut Haasil to the National Award-winning Paan Singh Tomar (2012) and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns (2013).

“He used to catch my mistakes at once. He had the ability to peep inside me and say everything to my face. Uske saamne main kuch lambi-lambi haank nahin paata tha... Par ab apni kamzoriyon ko chupaate hi rahunga as I can’t share with anyone,” Dhulia signs off.