Pakistani actress Saba Qamar, who starred in the super grosser Bollywood comedy-drama Hindi Medium opposite late Irrfan Khan, says she learned a lot from the Indian actor.

Saba said she had nurtured a dream since her childhood to work on a project with Irrfan Khan.

“I even said this during an interview, that if I am ever offered an Indian film I would want to work with Irrfan Khan. I was very lucky since the first opportunity I got was with him. And I’ve learned a lot from him,” said Saba in a recent appearance on a Pakistani TV show.

Recalling the time she spent with Irrfan on the sets of Hindi Medium, Saba said they were shooting in New Delhi, and she became homesick as it was her first Eid away from home.

“That was my first Eid away from home and I told Irrfan that I wanted Eidi, and he gave me the note you see in the picture. I have that note to this day,” she said while referring to a picture she had uploaded on her Instagram in 2016, Tribune reported.

The Saket Chaudhary-directed Hindi Medium, released in 2017, centers on a couple's struggle to get their daughter admitted to a prestigious English-medium school to rise in society.

Made on a production budget of Rs.14 crore (USD 19,20,398.06), Hindi Medium grossed Rs 3.22 billion (USD 45 million) at the worldwide box office (mostly from China), making it the 20th highest-grossing Indian film at the time.

At the 63rd Filmfare Awards, it won the best film and best actor for Irrfan Khan.

He died on 29 April 2020 after a two-year battle with neuroendocrine cancer.

(SAM)