Babil Khan on mom Sutapa being dad Irrfan's critic: She had 17 pages of criticism for Paan Singh Tomar

Sutapa Sikdar and Babil Khan. Pic/Instagram

Babil Khan is riding high on the success of Yash Raj Films' first miniseries, The Railway Men. He plays the role of a former Union Carbide India Limited employee who works for the Indian Railways to earn a living. The young starlet is the son of Irrfan and Sutapa Sikdar. Just like his father, Babil has won hearts with the projects he has done till now.

During the promotions, Babil revealed in an interview with Humans of Bombay that his mother, Sutapa, was Irrfan's harshest critic. Sharing an anecdote, he said, "My mom is very critical. Like, when she saw papa's Paan Singh Tomar, she had 17 pages of criticism. So, I can't stay in the room where mom is watching my film." When Babil was asked about Sutapa's reaction to his debut film, Qala, the actor replied, "She said, ‘You did good for the first time.' That's all she said."

Talking about Irrfan and Sutapa's relationship, Babil shared, "My definition of love is to surrender to the innate equality of me and you. My parents were the bestest friends in the world, but baba was way too busy and mom was always with me. So, I didn't see the physical affection growing up, but I saw the respect that they had as best friends. And I saw my mother raise me and my mother is a queen."

On the red carpet of IIFA 2023, Babil said in an interaction with India Today that he was nervous about Sutapa's reaction to Qala. He shared, "I was very nervous about her reaction because she used to critique Baba like hell. Baba would think 'aaj toh bohot hi accha actor hun main'. Mama used to be like 'baith jao'. Mama used to instruct him where he has to go in terms of his craft. So, I was very nervous. Of course, it is not easy for her to say 'you did a good job' and she didn't say that. But she said, 'for your first film without any acting training, you did a good job'. I think that was enough for me to stay motivated and to do a better job."

Babil is just three projects old. He started with Netflix's film Qala in 2022. Friday Night Plan was his second acting venture. Returning to Netflix after two collaborations, the actor is basking in praise for The Railway Men which released on November 18.