Why Irrfan Khan does not take awards seriously

Despite critical acclaim and accolades hounding him for his many stellar roles, actor Irrfan Khan feels awards should not be taken too seriously.

Echoing almost what Aamir Khan said more than a decade ago, the actor of Life of Pie and latest release Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster Returns said: "Even the award categories mentioned are not always honest nor are they supposed to be taken seriously.`

He made the remark in a recent interview with with the Mumbai-based Mid-Day, where he shared experience of working with Tigmanshu Dhulia in Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster Returns, his last few projects in Hollywood and how awards should not be taken seriously.

Irrfan Khan, now one of the most highly rated actors of Indian film industry, has been recently seen on International silver screens in prominent roles in The Amazing Spider-Man and the Oscar nominated Life of Pi.

He confided that last year had been a very hectic year with several projects running alongside and that he meant to take things a little easy this year.

`Sometimes you work in a film half-heartedly and you can't even leave it midway. I want to eliminate that aspect and concentrate on films that will keep me engrossed, ` he said.

This he said also ensures that he's always challenging himself.

Recently he turned down The Last Knights even though it had names like Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen attached to it. `For me, my character - no matter how small or big his screentime is - makes all the difference, ` he said.

`I might do a Rajasthani film tomorrow if somebody comes up with an excellent story.`

Talking about the script of Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster he said, `We don't come across a female character as strong as Mahie Gill's in Hindi films nowadays. She was so beautifully written.`

An obvious addition is working with a director like Tigmanshu Dhulia who is sensitive to what's happening around and makes an extra effort to inculcate those elements onto the big screen.

When asked what his opinion on the 100-crore club and award functions he just frankly said that `It's not the ultimate benchmark. Most of them are there just to accommodate as many people as they can."