Nawazuddin Siddiqui has denied claims that he and Irrfan Khan were at odds while collaborating on Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox.

On the ninth anniversary of the film The Lunchbox, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui rejected rumors of on-set animosity between him and his late co-star, late actor Irrfan Khan. Irrfan was like a brother to him, he added, and he even took him to meet filmmaker Danny Boyle without an appointment.

Nawazzudin Siddiqui remarked in an interview that working with Irrfan on The Lunchbox, which also starred Nimrat Kaur, brought back many happy memories for him. The film was directed by Ritesh Batra and depicted the story of two people who meet following a misidentification.

Speaking to a leading daily, Nawazuddin refuted reports that he was at ‘loggerheads’ with Irrfan, and said, “Irrfan bhai was like my older brother and I have several precious memories of working with him, even before The Lunchbox happened.”

He added, “When the casting for Slumdog Millionaire was going on, he took me to meet Danny Boyle without an appointment. Imagine walking in to meet such a big director without any prior notice.”

Finally, both of us were cast in the movie, but unfortunately, when the shoot began, I was busy with another movie. So, my part was then offered to another actor. I have learned a lot from Irrfan bhai… even how to meet a big Hollywood director without an appointment.”