Home ›› 30 Apr 2023 ›› Show Biz
Director Anup Singh is overjoyed as his film ‘The Song Of Scorpions’ is finally released on April 29, after sustaining delays for years. The film starring Irrfan Khan premiered at the 70th Locarno Film Festival in 2017. Recently Anup Singh and actor Shashank Arora joined Hindustan Times for a chat and talked about celebrating Irrfan through his swansong.
‘The Song Of Scorpions’ released on Irrfan’s death anniversary. The director said, “I am choked with sadness as Irrfan is not here to see this moment.” He defined it as a strange feeling, a mix of grief and joy. Shashank Arora agreed, “It’s sad that people we love leave us. The joy of sharing something we made together is incredible. This altogether is life.”
Shashank plays Munna, a banjara in the desert. He is close to Aadam, played by Irrfan Khan. They are just travellers, nomads, picking odd jobs for money. Munna looks up to Aadam as his teacher, model, spiritual guide and his best friend.
Shashank not only looks up to Irrfan in the movie but also in real life. He shared, “Irrfan is one of my most favourite actors. It was a wonderful experience, to spend time with him on the sand dunes and learn from him. He is a very gentle, kind soul. From what I gathered during the limited time with me is, he loved gulkand ka halwa, and flying kites. One day we went on a bike ride together on the sand dunes, something I will never forget. He was a poet at heart. It’s a dream for an actor to work with someone like him.”
The Song Of Scorpions is heavier on dialogues in Marwari than in Hindi. Ask Shashank if it was easy or difficult for him to grasp it, the actor admitted, “It was a bit of both. It was easy because we were shooting in a geographical area where people spoke the same language. Even the guy who drove me to the set had a similar Marwari accent. It’s a tough accent to pick up. Of course, it’s not close to how I am used to speaking but working with a great team makes it much more approachable. It was a bit of a challenge.”
