Boman Irani Reveals He Had Suggested Irrfan Khan’s Name For Viru Sahastrabuddhe’s Role In 3 Idiots

Boman Irani is undoubtedly one of the most talented and versatile actors of the Hindi film industry. While he has won many hearts over the years with his spectacular work in films such as Main Hoon Na, Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Sanju among others, his performance in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and 3 Idiots left the audience stunned! Even though the films feature big superstars like Sanjay Dutt and Aamir Khan, Boman managed to steal the show with his amazing portrayal of Dr Asthana and Virus. But did you know there was a time that he rejected 3 Idiots and recommended Irrfan Khan’s name for Viru Sahastrabuddhe’s character?

In a recent chat with Bollywood Hungama, Boman shared that his role in 3 Idiots was very similar to the role in Munna Bhai. He explained, “If you put a magnifying glass, they are very similar characters. They were so similar- both were a dean, both their daughters fell in love with a hero whom he saw as a pain in his eye.” The actor then told director Rajkumar Hirani that it’s the same role and refused to play the iconic character of Virus.

Boman went on to reveal that he felt Irrfan would be perfect for the role. He remembered, “There was so much love and respect for a co-actor, a colleague, I said take Irrfan Khan for 3 Idiots. I said I think he will be superb in that role. Because whatever he does, he does it superbly. But Raju said that he is too young and then I asked that am I too old and then we laughed on it and went on to work on the character to make it a little different.”

While we don’t feel any other actor could have done justice to Virus’ role like Boman Irani, we can’t help but wonder how the film would have turned out if Irrfan was a part of it. Any guesses?