Irrfan Khan – All You Need To Know About The Legend
The road to stardom is not a bed of roses for all, it takes a lot of sacrifices and hardships; the story of Irrfan Khan is no different. Irrfan Khan is not within us anymore, as he passed away on 29th April, 2020 because of colon infection (he was suffering from Neuroendocrine Tumor). Irrfan Khan’s body of work is astounding and that can be found out from the kind of characters he played in various films whether Indian or International.
Brief Overview of Irrfan Khan’s Initial Career
Irrfan Khan went through severe struggle in his early days. The young Khan wanted to enter the film industry but couldn’t and then he took the route of television, where he did multiple plays, serials and series. Amongst Irrfan’s noteworthy plays was Chandrakanta where he was admired for his performance. In 1990, Irrfan Khan also shared the screen with the ‘Sultan of parallel cinema’ Pankaj Kapur in “Ek Doctor Ki Maut” (that’s long before Irrfan’s life changing film Maqbool). Irrfan auditioned for many films during the mid to late 90’s as in late 90’s a breeze of realistic yet commercial cinema was the talk of the town because of films like Bandit Queen (1994), Fire (1996), Satya (1998) and Earth (1999). Although Irrfan appeared in Mira Nair’s critically acclaimed Salam Bombay but it took him 14 years to get mainstream films like Ghhath, Kasoor, and Gunaah.
The Year When It All Began
It won’t be wrong to say that 2003 was the year of Irrfan Khan to display a wide range of performances. Who can forget Rannvijay Singh from Haasil? He was a fairly new actor who stood tall against the master of Hindi diction and realistic performances – Asutosh Rana. In Haasil, Irrfan Khan was ahead of all and his fellow actors and received immense appreciation. In the same year, Irrfan’s other films released including Dhund, Supari and Footpath but two films were jackpot for him, one being ‘Maqbool’ and other “Road To Ladak”. In Maqbool, Irrfan Khan was surrounded by the lava bursting volcanoes of Bollywood like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Tabu and Piyush Mishra; but among all of them Irrfan Khan was appreciated by masses and classes. That was the life-changing experience and film for Irrfan Khan hands down.
The Mass Appeal
Irrfan Khan was always considered as a dependable actor as he proved his mettle in every character which he played earlier. For any actor films with mass appeal are very important as they place them in the middle of the masses. For Irrfan Khan those films were, The Killer, Dil Kabaddi, Billu Barber, and Knock Out. These films showcased the comic side as well as the intense side of Khan. In Gunday, he was one man army standing against Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor. Irrfan Khan had his unique style of saying the most difficult and lengthy monologues in unbelievable effortless ways, which made him easy to connect with a common man.
The International Leap For Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan was one of those actors whose talent was immediately spotted by international filmmakers. This could probably be possible because of the festival films which he did in career on and off. After receiving appreciation for Mira Nair’s The Namesake in 2006, Irrfan Khan was seen in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire. Irrfan Khan was immensely appreciated for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi (2012). Same year he also appeared in Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider Man. In 2015, Irrfan Khan appeared in Jurassic World and in 2016 he shared screen with Tom Hanks in Inferno. His last international release was Puzzle which released a few months after Tokyo Trial, released in 2018.
15 Must Watch Films of Irrfan Khan
For those who want to witness what epitome of talent Irrfan Khan was must watch the following films;
- Haasil
- Maqbool
- Billu Barber
- Yeh Saali Zindagi
- Paan Singh Tomar
- Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns
- The Lunchbox
- Qissa
- Haider
- Piku
- Madari
- Hindi Medium
- Jazba
- Talwar
- Karwaan
Films like Paan Singh Tomar made viewers realize how blessed Irrfan Khan was in portraying a character where he transformed not only his physique but mannerism to the perfection. From the first scene to the last the journey on which Khan takes his audience is brilliant. Qissa is another film where he can be seen breathing the character of Umbar Singh. Films like Piku and Haider reconfirmed that Irrfan Khan was talented and dedicated enough to mesmerize his fans in the presence of stalwarts of Bollywood like Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Tabu and Shahid Kapoor.
For those who have a taste for off-beat cinema, Irrfan Khan has a plethora to offer. Irrfan is one of those actors from Bollywood who will always be remembered for his unconventional character that always left a mark. He introduced a style of acting which many are following and will follow.
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