Deepak Tijori reveals he envied Irrfan Khan: ‘They never even looked at me because I was seen as too commercial'

Time of India

11-07-2025

Actor-director
Deepak Tijori
, who rose to fame with films like Aashiqui and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, is gearing up for the release of his latest short film Echoes of Us. While promoting the project, Tijori recently reflected on the kind of cinema he always aspired to be part of, but didn't get the chance to.
In a rare moment of vulnerability, Tijori revealed that the one actor whose career he truly envied was the late
Irrfan Khan
. 'There was always one actor I envied — that was Irrfan Khan,' he shared with Bollywood Bubble, adding, 'The kind of cinema he did, that was the kind I wanted to do. But I never got the opportunity because they always thought I was too commercial a property to be part of that cinema.'
'I was always an actor, never a star breed'
Despite being recognised for his roles in some of the most iconic films of the '90s, Tijori confessed that he was often boxed into a commercial mould, making it difficult for him to explore more grounded, artistic cinema.
'I was always an actor. I was never a star breed,' he said.
He admitted that he never cared much for song-and-dance routines either, unlike some of his peers. 'That's why if you see me in cinema, I don't have songs to play like Shah Rukh Khan. You guys do all those boss-level songs. I used to say, 'Okay, I'll do my work,' but I never had songs,' he recalled with a laugh. 'I used to tell them — don't make me sing, yaar, I find it annoying.'
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'Ittar is Irrfan cinema. And I want to do that now'
Tijori feels he is finally stepping into the kind of cinema he's always longed for. Mentioning his recent work Ittar and another upcoming project with filmmaker
Veena
, he noted that these films reflect the subtle, introspective storytelling that defined Irrfan's legacy. 'Ittar is Irrfan cinema. What I'm doing again with Veena — that is Irrfan cinema,' he asserted.
Deepak
also revealed that Echoes of Us came into being after he met Joe, a fellow director who had worked on previous projects. The two bonded over their shared vision and decided to collaborate. 'I wrote it because I met Joe, and Joe was also a director. We became friends and thought — chalo, let's do something,' he said.