This is a great time to be injured-Irrfan Khan

Year 2009 is certainly turning out to be unusual in every respect for Irrfan Khan. Firstly, his fleeting role in Slumdog Millionaire landed him at the Oscar ceremony and then came the Forbes magazine rating that included him among the six most bankable actors from India! At the age of 46, he began learning the skill of steeplechase running for Paan Singh Tomar. He now awaits the release of New York, his unusual YRF project. He also evaded kissing Mallika Sherawat in Hiss. And he has received the script of Life Of Pi, to be directed by Ang Lee.

The man in question is just back from Roorkee where he has been shooting for Tigmanshu Dhulia's Paan Singh Tomar. Irrfan is nursing his twisted ankle, which the doctors aren't able to exactly tell as to how long it will be before he will be back on his feet. "Some say a week,some say six months and it is already a month-and-a-half since the injury. The ankle pains at certain angles and I cannot run for sure," he sighs. However, Irrfan's spirit isn't at all dampened by the injury. Quite on the contrary, he seems to be enjoying the forced break, for as he puts it, "My kids are home for summer holidays and this is a great time to be injured! I play with them and swim with them. Sometimes I make them tag along with me and at times I tag along with them," he laughs.

Irrfan plays the role of Paan Singh, who won the steeplechase in India's National Games for seven years in a row and his record remained unbeaten for 10 years. Post-retirement, Tomar returned to his hometown and turned into a dacoit in the Chambal Valley to fight against social injustice. "90 per cent of the film is complete," informs Irrfan. Although he has never been a professional athlete, Irrfan says that he likes sports and used to participate at school level. But learning the skill of steeplechase at his age, he admits, is most exciting, "It is far more complicated than simple running. You have to build up a tempo to jump over hurdles and keep running. The national coach was training me for some time, I will practise with him again," says he.

Irrfan kickstarted his acting career with tele-serials before Vishal Bhardwaj cast him in Maqbool. Asif Kapadia's Warrior and then Dhulia's Haasil put him in the limelight. He shares a "special working relationship"with Dhulia, who used to be his junior at the National School of Drama. Irrfan admires Dhulia's writing and says that the strength of Paan Singh Tomar is also its emotional content. The transformation of an athlete into a dacoit reflects on the way our system functions, he says. "We do not care for the talent we have. We have no respect for our sporting talent other than cricket. Producers UTV are looking for a November release for this unusual sports film.

After Billu, which was "a sweet and warm film" that people identified with, Yash Raj Films' upcoming film New York will be his next big league project. "Yes, New York will mostly be my next release. You will see a slick thriller instead of a mushy romance from YRF. It is a very engaging thriller. When Yashji saw the film, he was so happy that he said he was proud to own the film," gushes the actor.

Mallika Sherawat's home-production Hiss is also lined up for release, "The most challenging thing for me in the film was to save myself from the naagin, at times I save her and at times I have to save myself from her!" he says without giving away much about this SFX bonanza. He feels this could be the role of her lifetime for his hot co-star. "She has to look sexy and dangerous, turn into a snake and doesn't have any dialogues. It is the best deal for her," he quips impishly.

From meaningful cinema, Irrfan has clearly graduated to the mainstream with films like Krazzy 4, Aaja Nachle and Life In A...Metro. Is it gratifying for him to replace Sanjay Dutt in Alibaug? "I don't like being called a 'replacement' for Sanjay Dutt simply because he is a much bigger star with a wider box-office appeal. I like being optioned for a good role though," he says. He has shot only for a day for Alibaug and since then it has been on hold, so he reasons,"I don't know if I am doing Alibaug any longer, there is no movement forward."

For him every film is a commercial project barring a few like Apna Aasmaan, which he did for the "cause". "The narrative may be different but the effort is always to make commercially-viable films," he asserts. However, he is not concerned about his star status, "I don't care for ranking, my concern is whether I am commercially viable in a project for a producer."

Of his Bollywood films he is also shooting for Acid Factory, another action film. "I am resting till I finish Paan Singh...," he says. How about Hollywood projects? "I have 3-4 interesting Hollywood offers, I am going through the scripts. I haven't greenlit any as yet. But most of those are taking off towards the end of the year." Till then he's busy keeping his sons occupied with some challenging games.