Legendary actor Irrfan Khan passed away six years ago, but on his death anniversary this year, April 30, his fans were treated to a special surprise when a new film of his, The Last Tenant, premiered on YouTube. Co-starring Vidya Balan and filmed 26 years ago, the project represents their only on-screen collaboration and has been warmly received by viewers. Deeply moved, the film’s director, Saarthak R Dasgupta, says the release brings with it “mixed emotions.”
Reflecting on having made the film in the very early years of his career, Saarthak R Dasgupta admits he had no real idea what he was doing at the time. “Back then, there were no digital backups, and all the rushes were stored on two beta tapes. One beta went missing and I never recovered it, and the other was so badly affected by fungus that it became unusable. So I put the film out of my mind all these years,” he recalls. That changed two weeks ago, when he was moving houses and came across an unlabelled VHS tape. “I assumed it was probably my wedding video, and anyway, who even has a VHS player these days? I was about to throw it away, but then I thought I should at least see what was on it—and that’s when this film suddenly reappeared.”
Because the video quality was not very good and 26 years had passed, Saarthak was initially hesitant to release the film. “We realised Irrfan's sixth death anniversary was approaching, and I felt compelled to pay tribute. I had rediscovered this film after 26 years, and it seemed like a sign. So I chose to release it on that very day. I didn’t even speak to Vidya beforehand because everything happened so quickly,” he says. However, Vidya Balan was thrilled when The Last Tenant was recovered. “After releasing it, I messaged Vidya and she was extremely excited. I then found out that she and Irrfan had acted in a film together earlier, but never appeared in the same frame. This is the only film in which these two legendary actors actually share screen space. So it holds special meaning for her as well.”
Vidya filmed for the movie in 1999 and 2000, and at that point, her only work had been the TV show Hum Paanch. However, that was not how Saarthak came across her. “I never watched television, so I had only seen her in a bank commercial where she portrayed a soldier’s wife. The camera slowly moved in on her incredibly expressive face, and I was captivated. I didn’t know who she was; I just thought she was so beautiful and felt compelled to approach her, and eventually I did,” he recalls.
Although Saarthak continued to share a warm relationship with Irrfan Khan after their film, he regrets that they never got the chance to collaborate again. “We kept discussing new projects, but he became so successful that I could no longer afford him or secure his dates. I always hoped we would work together once more, but then he passed away,” he says, adding that he is pleased with the reception The Last Tenant is getting. “What truly amazes me is the level of fandom he still enjoys. The response has been overwhelming, and the love people continue to show him is unlike anything I’ve seen before.”
Saarthak says he reached out to Irrfan’s wife, Sutapa Sikdar, about the film but has not heard back from her yet. In the meantime, he remains hopeful about creating an improved version of his film in the future. “I am still searching for the beta print, trying to salvage the film from the fungus. But the other beta copy is still missing. Maybe one day I will find it, and then I will likely have a better version in higher quality,” he concludes.
