The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) will mark the sixth death anniversary of Irrfan Khan with a special documentary titled ‘A Story That Refused To Die’. The documentary revisits the making of Irrfan starrer Paan Singh Tomar, featuring rare and previously unseen footage of the late actor. The trailer of the documentary has now been unveiled by director Tigmanshu Dhulia. For the unversed, Paan Singh Tomar was released in 2010, and also starred Mahie Gill, Vipin Sharma and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in supporting roles.
Documentary On Irrfan Khan’s Paan Singh Tomar Journey To Be Screened On April 29
Tigmanshu Dhulia took to his social media to share the trailer of the documentary showcasing the journey of Irrfan starrer Paan Singh Tomar. “Celebrating Irrfan through A Story That Refused to Die, a documentary capturing the incredible
journey of making Paan Singh Tomar. With nearly lost footage, it screens for the first time after 14 years at NMACC on 29th April 2026, 8 PM. Trailer out now,” wrote the filmmaker.
The trailer of ‘A Story That Refused to Die’ offers a glimpse into the making of one of Indian cinema’s most powerful films, Paan Singh Tomar. The documentary pays tribute to the late Irrfan Khan, capturing his transformative journey into the role that remains etched in cinematic history. The trailer opens with the line, “A film that stirred souls. A performance etched in time,” and promises restored unseen footage from the film’s making.
Celebrating Irrfan through A Story That Refused to Die, a documentary capturing the incredible journey of making Paan Singh Tomar. With nearly lost footage, it screens for the first time after 14 years at NMACC on 29th April 2026, 8 PM.
Trailer out now pic.twitter.com/EfiFLGMV8I— Tigmanshu Dhulia (@dirtigmanshu) April 23, 2026
The trailer shows ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ director Tigmanshu Dhulia reflecting on the film’s origins, revealing, “I did not have a script in the beginning. I only had this newspaper article and this idea and this passion to make this film.” Irrfan recalled listening to real encounter tapes, an experience that left him deeply unsettled.
The trailer of the documentary also shows Tigmanshu saying, “Sabse bada darr yahi laga rehta tha ki agar Irrfan ko hi uthaa liya kisine. Kaun dekhega picture? (The biggest fear was always that someone might actually abduct Irrfan himself. Then who would watch the film?).”
Meanwhile, the footage from the shoot of Paan Singh Tomar also showed Irrfan saying, “I came to know that it’s asking much more from me than what I expected. I am really fortunate that we could live a story which was lying, not even in our memories, but in our consciousness. Which we heard some time back, but it was not ready to die down.”
When And Where Will The Documentary Be Screened?
‘A Story That Refused To Die- A documentary on the journey of the film Paan Singh Tomar’ will be screened for the first time at NMACC- The Studio, on 29th April, 2026.
Directed by Ranjeeta Kaur, the documentary is assembled from material that was almost lost, and features footage from intimate moments from the sets of Paan Singh Tomar. It aims to highlight Irrfan’s method, and the subtle details that defined one of his most acclaimed performances—a role that earned him the National Award for Best Actor.
The documentary will premiere on April 29, 2026, at NMACC, followed by a panel discussion featuring Tigmanshu Dhulia and Vishal Bhardwaj, in conversation with Saurabh Dwivedi.
