Undoubtedly, Irrfan Khan is one of those rarefied actors whose acting skills will make you sit up and take notice. In the myriad roles he has played so far, Irrfan has made sure he has the audience laughing with him, smirking with him, crying with him and getting angry with him.
His sensitivity, intensity and involvement in his characters make him one with them, every time, merging into the roles he plays, for a second making you forget that he is actually only an actor doing his job—albeit a stupendous one. Irrfan Khan is an actor who grows on you with each film and each portrayal and your expectations from him only keep rising.
Emotions. Adventures. Chaos. Experience all of these as you get on board! #KarwaanTrailerOutNow https://t.co/WiEEAaIo5f @MrAkvarious @dulQuer @mipalkar @RonnieScrewvala @rsvpmovies @IshkaFilms @PritiRathiGupta @TSeries
— Irrfan (@irrfank) June 27, 2018
Just when the fans of this thinking and passionate actor were eagerly awaiting his next release, Karwaan, set to release in August, they were rudely jolted by a heart rending and shocking post by the actor on a microblogging site. He wrote, emotionally, and gravely, ‘Sometimes you wake up with a jolt with life shaking you up. The last fifteen days, my life has been a suspense story. Little had I known that my search for rare stories would make me find a rare disease. I have never given up and have always fought for my choices and always will. My family and friends are with me and we are working it out the best way possible. In trying times, please don’t speculate as I will myself share with you my story within a week – ten days, when the further investigations come with a conclusive diagnosis. Till then, wish the best for me!’
— Irrfan (@irrfank) March 16, 2018
While people reeled in shock, it emerged that he was suffering from a rare form of cancer – high-grade neuroendocrine cancer. Even as he is currently in London for his treatment, we couldn’t help but trace the journey of this one-of-a-kind actor with an equally unique journey.
We agree with him when he talks about his search for rare stories. Irrfan Khan has lent himself so wonderfully to roles that others would think thousand times about taking up and most likely won’t even do justice to. A budding cricketer from Jaipur, Rajasthan, he left his cricketing dreams behind when he won a scholarship from the National School of Drama and decided to follow his instincts about wanting to be in showbiz. Well, in hindsight, he was right. The entire film fraternity would have been the poorer for it if Irrfan Khan weren’t a part of it.
When Irrfan Khan made his move to Mumbai, it wasn’t films that beckoned him, but television. Remember popular television series like Chanakya, Bharat Ek Khoj, Sara Jahan Hamara, Banegi Apni Baat, Chandrakanta? That’s where he started off, and his amazing acting journey had only begun, and it is now almost 30 years of one challenging role after another for the actor.
Irrfan Khan’s big break in films came, thanks to Mira Nair’s, now historical film, Salaam Bombay, in 1988. Though it was a cameo, Irrfan Khan had officially made inroads into the film industry. More thought-provoking and critically acclaimed films followed—Ek Doctor Ki Maut and Such a Long Journey—which got very tepid responses. It was with Asif Kapadia’s historical film, with Irrfan Khan in the lead, The Warrior, that he got some recognition, thanks to its screenings at international film festivals in 2001.
Then, there was no stopping the bursting-with-talent Irrfan Khan, and he pulled out all stops to become an actor to reckon with. Not that he had to do much. With his inherent acting talent, his unconventional rugged looks, his quirky sense of humour, his lopsided smile and staccato dialogue delivery, Irrfan Khan stole the hearts of critics and the audience alike. He blazed such a trail with films like Life in a Metro, Maqbool, Slumdog Millionaire, The Lunch Box, Paan Singh Tomar, Piku, Jazbaa, Hindi Medium, etc, (not necessarily in the same order) that Irrfan Khan became one the main ingredients for any film if it had to win accolades—from the audience and the critics.
He also became one of the few actors to make a name for himself and the country in foreign shores. While several stalwarts have tried to conquer the west with little success, Irrfan Khan’s case was different. With breath-taking performances in The Namesake, New York, I Love You (2008), A Mighty Heart, The Darjeeling Limited, The Amazing Spider-Man, Life of Pi, and Jurassic World, besides the HBO series In Treatment, Dan Brown’s Inferno and a Japanese-American TV series, he has proved that he is an actor with a boundless craft that can transcend boundaries.
In fact, legendary actor Tom Hanks, whom Irrfan Khan shared screen space with in Inferno, had this to say about him during the film’s promotion. ‘Here’s what I hate about Irrfan Khan… I always think I’m the coolest guy in the room, and everybody’s hanging on to every word I say and everybody’s a little intimidated to be in my presence. And then Irrfan Khan walks into the room. And he’s the coolest guy in the room.And, everybody’s intimidated to be in his presence and everybody’s hanging on to his every word.’
Just when Irrfan was enjoying uninterrupted success came the news of his illness, which seems to have distressed the actor to the core. Recently, in an interview to a leading daily, the actor emotionally said, ‘I was travelling on a speedy train ride, had dreams, plans, goals, was fully engaged in them. And suddenly, someone taps on my shoulder. It’s the TC: ‘Your destination is about to come. Please get down.’ No, Irrfan Khan…you will soon find yourself embarking on a new train to a newer destination to enjoy more success. You have to, for the sake of your admirers and the film industry, in general. This, after all, is only the interval… we will see you after the break. Get well soon and electrify the screen once again with your inimitable talent…
