"Yeah for Acid Factory...they were real guns. We wanted the action scenes to look absolutely real. We were skidding and firing down the highway in Cape Town with our heart in the mouth pretending to be absolutely fearless for the camera."
Though the crew had the relevant permission they could've been intercepted any time and questioned about breaking traffic rules and using real guns.
The thrill for Irrfan remains. "That was the fun of it. The hijinks were somewhat beyond our control. We were speeding at 80 mph and firing bullets everywhere including helicopters hovering overhead. I've never done such stunts before.
And that too under such dangerous circumstances. The traffic rules there don't allow cars to go beyond 60 miles. And there I was half out of Mercedes speeding beyond the permissible limit.. It was dicey. Because I had never done something like this before."
Irrfan Khan who has been know for his realistic performances has become deeply enamoured of escapist hijinks, thanks to his new pal Sanjay Gupta who has given him a macho gun-toting role for the first time in Acid Factory.
Irrfan Khan has just done some heart-stopping action scenes in Cape Town for Sanjay Gupta's Acid Factory.
And he's completely besotted by the machismo.
"I love that high life.Somewhere as an actor I craved to escape the realistic tag. And Acid Factory gave me that chance. Even the action director Tinu Verma said he was going to have a heart attack watching me do these stunts."
It was only when the shootout at Cape Town ended that Irrfan realized how close they were to calamity.
"When Tinu said we'd have to do it the next day, I got scared. Really scared."
Irrfan has just done the most sexually-aggressive character of his life. "In Dil Kabaddi I played a guy enamoured of the sexually-liberated life he sees on MTV and other fast-paced channels."
Irrfan is very happy with the way Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is growing worldwide. "I play this rather mean cop. I haven't seen the film yet. But I'm really happy for what's happening to it. I'm very happy to be working with both Danny Boyle and Sanjay Gupta."