Irrfan: Ever an actor, never a star
Always the actor, never the star, Irrfan Khan shone bright in a cinematic universe that unspooled from the Hindi film industry across the seas to Hollywood and one he made his very own with powerhouse performances in films as diverse as The Namesake and Maqbool.
Understated and self-effacing, Irrfan was the man with a difference in the tinsel world of showbiz, transitioning from TV soaps to the big screen and then from Indian films to world cinema with so little fanfare and so smoothly that no one really noticed – an actor was born.
And when he died Wednesday, losing a two-year battle with neuroendocrine tumour, a rare form of cancer that targets various organs of the body, he left behind an Irrfan-shaped hole that no one will ever quite fill.
He was just 54, packing into his three decades in cinema a variety of roles he stamped with his own deft touch, sometimes frothy and light as in his role of a never-can-get-it-right suitor in Life in a Metro, sometimes intense like in Maqbool, a retelling of Macbeth, and other times introspective as in the much acclaimed The Life of Pi.
Tall and gangly, and not conventionally good looking, Irrfan, his directors said, portrayed it all with his eyes and chameleon like ability to slip into layered characters of bewildering variety, a rare actor at home both in the west and in India.
The performative intensity was seen early in his career with Haasil, where he played the role of a student leader with negative overtones. It continued through a remarkable filmography that saw him playing melancholic immigrant Ashoke Ganguly in Mira Nair’s The Namesake, an athlete-turned-dacoit in the biopic Paan Singh Tomar, the quizzical Rana watching a father-daughter dynamic in Piku or the loner striking a tentative relationship with a woman he has never met in The Lunchbox.
The remarkable career in acting almost didn’t happen. Born to a Muslim Pashtun family in Jaipur in 1967, Irrfan initially wanted to become a cricketer. But his parents – his mother had a royal lineage and his father was a businessman – were not too keen and he tried his hand at business.
“I was not cut out to be an actor. I was the last person who could become an actor. If I told people I wanted to be an actor, they would have killed me,” Irrfan once said in an interview.
Hearing about greats like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, he applied to the National School of Drama (NSD) in 1984. And the rest, as they say, is history.
He moved to Mumbai after his NSD degree and the acting journey took off in 1985 with the TV show Shrikant, based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya’s novel. Then came shows like Darr, Banegi Apni Baat and roles in Doordarshan serials like Bharat Ek Khoj, Kahkashan, Chanakya and Chandrakanta.
Television kept him occupied until acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair offered him a cameo in her 1988 movie Salaam Bombay. But his role was edited out in the final cut of the movie. Nair promised to cast Irrfan in the lead in a film and 16 years later gave him The Namesake, one of his most memorable roles.
SHOCKED CO-WORKERS
Amitabh Bachchan I just getting news of the passing of Irfaan Khan .. this is a most disturbing and sad news . An incredible talent .. a gracious colleague .. a prolific contributor to the World of Cinema .. left us too soon .. creating a huge vacuum .. Prayers and duas
Shah Rukh Khan I My friend…inspiration & the greatest actor of our times. Allah bless your soul Irrfan bhai…will miss you as much as cherish the fact that you were part of our lives.
AR Rahman I One of the greatest ambassadors of Indian cinema has left us. Gone too soon.
Shekhar Kapur I Indian film’s most succesfull export to Hollywood. A man loved by all. Sad to see #IrrfanKhan leave us, after what we thought was suucesfull fight against cancer. God bess you Irfan
Akshay Kumar I Such terrible news…saddened to hear about the demise of #IrrfanKhan, one of the finest actors of our time. May God give strength to his family in this difficult time
Priyanka Chopra I The charisma you brought to everything you did was pure magic. Your talent forged the way for so many in so many avenues.. You inspired so many of us. #IrrfanKhan you will truly be missed
Ava DuVernay I Gone too soon. When he is on screen, you can’t take your eyes off of him. He lives on in his films
Colin Trevorrow, Director (who worked with Irrfan in Jurassic World) I A thoughtful man who found beauty in the world around him, even in pain. In our last correspondence, he asked me to remember ‘the wonderful aspects of our existence’ in the darkest of days. Here he is, laughing
British actor Riz Ahmed I Rest in peace one of the greatest actors of our time, Irrfan Khan. I never met him but he was an inspiration and a hero to me and millions of others
Ang Lee, Director of Life of PI I It was a privilege working with Irrfan. He is a unique actor. It’s a great honour to have worked with him
STATE MOURNING
The man had acting in his veins, you throw anything at him and he will excel.
Utam Mohanty I actor
RIP Irrfan bhai.. a great loss to the industry, a huge loss for us all, you have left a big void in the film industry, you’ll be missed
Nila Madhab Panda i director
Deeply saddened to hear the news. He was the face of Indian cinema in the west.
Archita sahu I actress
Will miss my favorite actor, RIP Irfaan Khan
Sabyasachi Mishra I actor
I met him at his residence few months before he was hospitalised and planned for a project together. Now it will be a dream only.
Swapna Pati I actress
Lesser known facts
Royal lineage: He was born as Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan to a Muslim Pashtun family in 1967 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. His mother Saeeda Begum had a royal lineage while his father ran a tyre business.
Accidental actor: He was interested in a career in cricket, however, his parents were not too keen on it. It was after he earned a scholarship in NSD that he took to making a career in acting.
Mechanic Irrfan: After reaching Mumbai, he started working as an AC repair man. It is even said that one of first houses he visited for repairing services was that of the legend Rajesh Khanna.
Dream debut: He debuted in the year 1988 in the Academy Award nominated movie Salaam Bombay
Turning point: At one point of time his failed films drove him to almost give up on acting. However, The Warrior made him change his mind.
Missing opportunity: He couldn’t work with Hollywood great Christopher Nolan for Interstellar as he was already committed to two of his projects, The Lunchbox and D Day.
Unique wish: One of Irrfan Khan’s wishes from early days has been to gift his mother a suitcase full of cash just like how they do in movies.
US detention: Irrfan Khan was detained at a US airport, like Shah Rukh Khan, simply because his name is similar to a 33 year old terrorist’s.
Rare feat: Irrfan Khan is the first actor from the Indian film industry who was a part of cult movies, Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and Life of Pie (2012), both Academy Award winners.
Cannes recognition: Irrfan’s The Lunchbox was one of the very few Indian movies to have won Grand Rail d’Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Moments of glory
Received Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour in India, for his contribution to the field of arts.
National Film Award for the best actor in the 60th National Film Awards 2012 and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Paan Singh Tomar.
Asian Film Award for Best Actor in 2014.
Three International Indian Film Academy
Awards and three Filmfare Awards
Irrfan’s TOP 10
Paan Singh Tomar
The Lunchbox
Piku
Maqbool
Life In A… Metro
Madaari
Hindi Medium
Karwaan
Haasil
Angrezi Medium