One of the most versatile and talented actors of world cinema Irrfan Khan passed away on April 29. He was 53 years old, and succumbed to cancer after bravely battling the disease for over two years. Born in Jaipur, Irrfan was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi.
Early struggles
Irrfan traversed a long road of struggle to occupy the position he did; where he was recognised both as a commercially and critically successful actor.
One of the earliest sightings of Irrfan was on the Indian Government run TV channel Doordharshan in 1988, where he played the role of emperor Harshavardhana in the Shyam Benegal directed Indian historical drama, Bharat Ek Khoj.
Later on, with the advent of satellite television in India, he got more opportunities to showcase his talent. Sparsh, and in particular Star Bestsellers, an Indian anthology series, saw the tall actor with brooding eyes, display his histrionics in playing many different characters with ease.
Hindi cinema
In fact, it was during the filming of Star Bestsellers that a successful creative bond was formed between acclaimed director Tigmanshu Dhulia and Irrfan. The duo combined on Dhulia’s first Bollywood directorial venture, Haasil, to a favourable outcome.
The movie was a commercial and critical success. Set amidst the background of university politics in North India, this gritty tale gave Irrfan his first Filmfare Award for the best actor in a negative role in 2004.
The duo combined again in 2012 to make Pan Singh Tomar, a film where Irrfan’s excellent portrayal of real-life dacoit from the Chambal region Pan Singh – won him a National Award for Best Actor.
His portrayal of a widower who communicated with an unhappy housewife through a series of letters passed on by Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system in the 2013 movie The Lunchbox, got him rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival that year.
The biggest hit for the actor was the 2017 release Hindi Medium. Here was a film that was sensible and entertaining. It broke the so called boundaries, between different sets of audiences with varying preferences, and was a universal success.
International cinema
Ironically, it was in his home country that Irrfan tasted his first success. In 2001, he starred in the title role in UK-born Asif Kapadia’s movie Warrior, which was the story of an ancient warrior looking to turn a page in his life, and lead a normal life.
Since then, Irrfan acted alongside big Hollywood names including Angelina Jolie in The Mighty Heart, and Tom Hanks in Inferno. Though his most notable roles came in the 2006 Mira Nair directed The Namesake, and the 2012 Ang Lee directed big-hit Life of Pi.
In fact, it is widely acknowledged that Irrfan lead the way for other Indian actors to play prominent roles in Hollywood productions, and not be side-lined in bit parts. He broke the norm of actors from India being typecast in caricaturist roles with pronounced Indian mannerisms.
Overall, it must be said, a-once-in-a-generation actor, Irrfan Khan enriched the craft of film-making and leaves behind a rich reservoir of good films and very high standards of acting for other performers to follow.
– by Apurv Shukla, an independent writer based in Auckland, with interest in movies and sports
Source: Wikipedia