The village where Irrfan lives on

In 2010 when the late actor Irrfan bought a land parcel in a tiny hamlet in the lap of the scenic Sahyadri range in Igatpuri taluka of the Nashik district very few people knew of him hereBy then he was already an international star having worked in Danny Boylersquos Oscarwinning film Slumdog Millionaire 2008 and classics such as Asif Kapadiarsquos The Warrior 2001 Vishal Bhardwajrsquos Maqbool 2003 and Mira Nairrsquos The Namesake 2006 apart from many other Hindi box office hitsIrrfanrsquos farmhouse in Hiruchiwadi Igatpurimdashwhere he helped the village grow and found a second family PicsSatej ShindeItrsquos no surprise that people didnrsquot know him here given that televisions are still a rarity in this tribal village called Hiruchiwadi In the era of 5G connectivity the network here is spotty with just 3G connectivity if yoursquore in the right spot When we asked a local farmer Revati 28 when was the last time she had watched a film she responded ldquoMee kadhi chitrapat naahi baghitla I have never watched a filmrdquo However she came to know about Irrfan after he moved here as he socialised with the villagers quite oftenIt may be bewildering to many but films are not the main source of entertainment in this tribal village The closest film theatre from here Victory Cinema is around 11 km away near Igatpuri railway station With no state transport facility to connect Hiruchiwadi travelling outside the village is not an everyday affair for everyone Adults who have twowheelers and a few families with cars are the only ones who frequently travel towards the city sideBhavrao Bandu Bangar headmasterThough just 120 kilometres from Mumbai this tribal hamlet feels lightyears away from modernity still living in the 1990s Old Hindi film music can still be heard on the radio sets if you stroll through the village on a quiet afternoon The Sahyadri range surrounding it from all sides protects it in its soft fists much like a mother coddles a baby in her lapItrsquos probably this simplicity and rawness that appealed to Irrfan and he chose to build his farmhouse here which was completely ready by 2015 Itrsquos a perfect escape from the glitz and glamour of Mumbai a city that always kept him busy and where everyone knew himPicGetty ImagesSocial media is full of stories and articles claiming that the villagersquos name has been changed to ldquoHerochiwadirdquo meaning ldquothe herorsquos neighbourhoodrdquo in Marathi However when Sunday midday spoke to the village Sarpanch Ashok Pingle it revealed what can be described as both coincidence and misinformationThe Sarpanch explained ldquoThe villagersquos actual name is Hiruchiwadi named after Hiru Pingle the mukhiya of the local tribal clan who fought the British alongside the tribal revolutionary Raghoji Bhangre Local NCP leader Suresh Bodke who has worked for the village proposed that the villagersquos name should be changed to lsquoHerochiwadirsquo to honour Irrfan after he passed away But we didnrsquot want that Because firstly we are the descendants of Hiru Pingle and take pride in the fact that the village is named after him Secondly if two letters in the villagersquos name are changedmdashfrom lsquoHirursquo to lsquoHerorsquomdashit may bring popularity to the village but it would also mean that all our documents from Aadhaar to property papers would need to be changed as wellhellip Itrsquos too long a process for changing just two lettersrdquoA seating area with actor Irrfanrsquos portraits near the entrance to his farmhouse in Hiruchiwadi village Igatpuri The farmhousersquos gates have no locks Some of Irrfanrsquos belongings such as an award he won and other deacutecor items lie in the open However nobody touches his belongings PicSatej ShindeItrsquos a major coincidence that both ldquoHerordquo and ldquoHirurdquo have a very similar phonetic sound The visit to the village was another lesson in the age of social mediamdashdo not trust everything you read onlineRegardless of the villagersquos name the Sarpanch said the village loves its ldquoHerordquo ldquoThe humility Irrfan showed by visiting houses around providing livelihood to the locals by giving them jobs at his farmhouse and his interaction with the children was something we did not expect from such a big film star He could have arrived in his SUV with his bodyguards and chosen to stay in enjoying the serene view and spending time only on his estate without stepping out But he always chose to come to usrdquoSarpanch Ashok Pingle left along with his uncle Damu Pingle Damu a tailor helped Irrfan with nearly all the drapery in his farmhouse The Pingle family have been the caretakers of the farmhouse PicsSatej ShndeAshok Pinglersquos uncle Damu Pingle lives just a stonersquos throw from Irrfanrsquos farmhouse being the third house from his gate When Irrfan learned that Damu was a tailor he gave him the task of altering and tailoring all the drapery he had purchased for his farmhouse including furniture covers for when the house would be closed Damu refused to share how much he was paid for partly being involved in the ldquointerior designingrdquo of a film starrsquos house but he mentioned it was more than all the money he made in the last five yearsWhen we asked Damu about his interactions with Irrfan he said ldquoAamcha bolnach zhaala nahi kaaran tyaanna Marathi yaet nhavta ani mala Hindi bolta yaet nhavta We never spoke a word as he didnrsquot know Marathi and I couldnrsquot speak Hindirdquo But Irrfanrsquos staff did the translation for the twoAt the entrance of Irrfanrsquos farmhouse in Igatpuri this epitaph is a tribute from his family fans and the village where he made his home away from homeAnother employment opportunity arose for Damursquos family as caretakers It is his family that tends to the farmhouse during Irrfanrsquos familyrsquos absence As he showed this correspondent the farmhouse from outside he further added ldquoI also worked on items like the tablecloths kitchen cloths needed for regular use and even doormats Irrfan brought these items from outside probably Mumbai but they needed to be tailored to size All the tailoring on this farmhouse is my workrdquoBut the real surprise came when he revealed that he had also stitched a few kurtas for Sutapa Sikdar Irrfanrsquos wife ldquoShe gave me a kurta that fit her well I took the measurements and sewed many clothes for her for over two yearsrdquoEknath Pawar a resident of the village received funds from Irrfan for the local Hanuman temple in the background He also did basic carpentry and construction work on Irrfanrsquos farmhouse which earned him R12 lakhs an amount he believes would be impossible to earn in the villageThe trust Irrfan placed in the villagers was evident as we walked around his farmhouse Villagers freely moved around as there were no locks on the gates A trophy he won for a film along with various deacutecor items lay scattered on the faccedilade of the farmhouse yet nobody touched their beloved herorsquos possessionsLocals mentioned that Irrfan was deeply committed to community work According to Subhash Mengal a primary school teacher in the village Irrfan was planning to have some films shot there those that fit the villagersquos terrainmdashmountainous rugged yet green Mengal says ldquoIn one of the interactions I had with him he mentioned that film shootings would generate employment for the locals Itrsquos a location just three hours away from Mumbai and it may help filmmakers save costs on VFX or travelling to distant locations It was a very interesting prospect You can see how disconnected the village is despite being at the border of three major districtsmdashNashik Palghar and ThanerdquoIrrfan and Babil fourth from left along with people from the village during one of his visits to Hiruchiwadi PicSpecial arrangementThough he never formally adopted the village during his time here Irrfan touched lives across all domains A resident of the village Eknath Pawar told us that Irrfan had donated Rs 50000 for a local temple now the largest in the village ldquoWe mentioned that the Hanuman temple needed renovation We didnrsquot care whether the donation came from a Muslim as it was godrsquos work He never cared about religion either The funds arrived within a few days around the time when he was already sick It didnrsquot come directly from him but through Sutapa DidirdquoBut closest to his heart were the children of Hiruchiwadi Bhavrao Bandu Bangar the former headmaster of the primary school in the neighbouring village of Patryachawada knew how big a star Irrfan was However his approximately 100 students had no idea who he was In 2015 when Bangar learned that Irrfanrsquos farmhouse was nearly ready and that he would be arriving soon he went to the farmhouse to request him to meet the students ldquoIt may have been their only chance to meet such a big film star Meeting an influential figure at a tender age can make an impactrdquo he tells Sunday middayBhavrao Bandu BangarBut Irrfan was seemingly busy that day telling the headmaster ldquoI will come later in the dayrdquo School ended at 5 pm and the children waited until 530 pm but Irrfan did not arriveBangar says ldquoIt was understandable He is a busy manrdquo But to his surprise the next morning Irrfan along with his family arrived at the school earlier than anyone else and waited for the students to come Delighted that he had shown up with his entire family the headmaster asked ldquoWhy did you not come yesterdayrdquo To which Irrfan replied ldquoI didnrsquot want to come emptyhandedrdquo Bangar recalls ldquoHe came with two cars full of school bags stationery sweets and whatever he could get for the children from a nearby market in NashikrdquoA few years later Irrfan visited the farmhouse again By this time the children knew he was unwell Bangar told the students ldquoHero aajaari aahe Hero is unwell Make bouquets for him from whatever you find on the farmsrdquo The students got to work immediately and within a few hours a hundred bouquets made from local flowers and leaves were ready Bangar informed Irrfan that the children had brought him something this time Soon a hundred bouquets adorned the faccedilade of his farmhouse ldquoHe started crying when he saw the gesturerdquo recalls BangarThis happened towards the end of the monsoon season and Irrfan had noticed the children walking to school with plastic sheets or nothing at all during heavy rains Bangar shares ldquoTen months later at the onset of the next monsoon in 2018 I received two massive cartons The senderrsquos address was from Rajasthan where Irrfan originally hailed from I had never asked for it but even while he was receiving treatment in London for his illness he remembered the children and the fact that the monsoons had begun knowing they would need raincoats to go to school I never got to see him again as Saheb was very sickrdquoToday the plans Irrfan had for the village sit stalled which included basic infrastructure for shooting proper roads till the Trilangwadi Fort modern classrooms in the primary school and much more Locals say his family does not visit as often and they mostly keep to themselves unlike Irrfan He once told primary school teacher Subhash Mengal ldquoThe film industry is a lonely place I am glad to have you allrdquoHowever the work he did for the village remains The children still cherish fond memories of spending entire days multiple times with an international star Some now aspire to become actors Bangar says ldquoWithout him even the thought of learning theatre or becoming a film star would not have occurred to these children We are close to Mumbai yet so farrdquoThe questions posed to the residents about Irrfan make them light up with pride knowing that their village is recognised now because of their heroToday the gate of his farmhouse which opens directly in the village has a seat that nobody sits on next to an epitaph that reads ldquoWe live because you reside in our soulrdquoRs 50KAmount Irrfan donated for a local temple now the largest in the villageBabil KhanWhat difference am I makingldquoMy father once said to me lsquoWhat difference am I making What am I doingrsquo This was way back before Piku and Hindi Medium before he bought the farmhouse He was fearless about his beliefs and some of his beliefs were the creation of life contribution to the sustenance of faith and giving humanity some hopeTo create a future that we can look forward to and not dread or be scared ofrdquoatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params