'Ya toh tu mar jayega ya tar jayega': When Irrfan Khan hailed Manu Rishi for being upfront

Actor and scriptwriter Manu Rishi Chadha, who shared a great camaraderie with the late actor Irrfan Khan, recalled a time when Irrfan supported him for being upfront with a prominent director.

During an interaction with journalist Sanket Upadhyay for his channel The Red Mike, Manu shared that Irrfan had recommended him to a bigshot director for writing a film.

However, the director was skeptical and asked Manu to write a few scenes as a test before offering him the project.

Manu said he then told the director, “Either you trust my work or you trust Irrfan bhai’s recommendation. You haven’t seen my work, otherwise, you wouldn’t ask me that question. If I asked you to direct a scene and show it to me, how would you feel?”

Manu revealed that the director then said he had made six films. “I told him I have written 11 (films). I said I am upset not because you haven’t seen my work but because you didn’t trust Irrfan bhai’s recommendation.”

Later, when Irrfan got to know about his interaction with the director, he told Manu, “Ya toh tu mar jayega ya tu tar jayega (Either you will die, or you will thrive). But this self-respect that you have is great. You said the right thing.”

Manu, 54, worked with Irrfan in his last film Angrezi Medium, released in March 2020. Irrfan died a month later in Mumbai. He had been receiving treatment for neuroendocrine cancer for a few years.

Manu Rishi has acted in films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Kya Dilli Kya Lahore, Ankhon Dekhi, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, and Fukrey 3, among others. He has also written dialogues for movies such as Chance Pe Dance, Aisha, and Ekk Deewana Tha.