Being told to shut up is not a good sign for society, says Irrfan Khan

Internationally acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan feels that Bollywood filmmakers should not just stick to the basics while making a film. The actor opines that filmmakers should rather try to cultivate a more innovative approach to help enhance the appeal of Indian films at a global level.

Speaking at the NDTV Indian of the Year 2015 awards on Tuesday, where he was awarded Actor of the Year by former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly, Irrfan said:

"If there is any field which becomes stagnant, it is bound to come down. Indian films need to reach the world audience and for that it needs to find a new language"

"It (Indian filmmakers) needs to find a new way of storytelling. It's very necessary to find the bigger audience. We can't keep on making similar kind of films all the time. We need to find something innovative, like the way audience gaze is evolving and is changing our storytelling ideas".

Irrfan, best known for is roles in Oscar-winning film like Life of Pi, also spoke about the importance of introducing fresh faces and exploring new plots.

The actor had a rather successful 2015 with all his films - Piku, Talvar, Jazbaa and Hollywood film Jurassic World - doing well both commercially and critically. When asked about his unique acting style, Irrfan said:

"I'm bored with things very easily. I can't repeat things. For me acting is a way of exploring things."

"Sometimes when an actor do a comment or pass his opinion, I have heard people saying that 'he is an actor so he should do only acting'. I feel very strange because for actors everything and anything is their subject matter".

Asked to share his views on the on-going 'intolerance' debate, Irrfan said:

"Everybody should have the right to speak their mind and concerns. If you are told to shut up, then these are not good signs for a growing society."

"Once ('Life of Pi' director) Ang Lee was asked why you don't speak about your country's politics when he was here? He said, 'We don't speak about politics. We should feel safe to say whatever we want to say. We should be free to express ourselves'."