Weekend

Last week , we lost one of the greatest actor of Bollywood on 29^th April Apr 2020. He was the actor who had risen from ranks in the Bollywood, starting as Jr artist  in late 80s. He was seen in many films where he would enact in one or two scenes. In the 90s he was seen on TV in many serials but it was in beginning of new millennium when he started getting recognition for his performances  in character roles. He is IRRFAN KHAN.

He was born on 6^th Jan 1967 and his real name was Sahebjade Irfan Ali Khan. He was from Tonk district in Rajasthan. From the early age he had shown interest in acting and started doing theatre. He joined National School of Drama (NSD) in 1984 to study acting.

He was offered a minor role in Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay in 1987, but his scenes did not make the final cut. After that he acted in numerous TV serials in 90s like Chanakya, Bharat Ek Khoj, Banegi Apni Baat, Chandrakanta, Sparsh, The Great Maratha, Jai Hanuman. In between he acted in few films also like Basu Chatterjee’s Kamla Ki Maut, Such a long Journey.

His first real break through came with Asif Kapadia’s The Warrior (2001). The film was shown in various International Film festivals and his performance was  appreciated. His next performance which was appreciated by critic and masses was for his negative role in Haasil, for which he won Filmfare’s Best Villain award. His first film as lead role was Rog (2005), although film did not very well at the box office but critics appreciated his performance. He also acted in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool, which was based on Shakespear’s Macbeth. His performance in that film was really great, when you see he was pitted against Pankaj Kapoor & Tabu.

In 2007 he really tasted success with The Namesake and Life in Metro. His chemistry with Konkona Sen Varma was the highlight of Life in Metro, which also won him Filmfare Best Supporting actor award. These roles were followed by his roles in A Mighty Heart and The Darjelling Limited.

From 2008, he started getting offers from Bollywood directors, and the first film in this era was Danny Boyle’s The Slumdog Millionaire, where he played the important role of Police Inspector in this film. This film went on to win many Oscar awards. In 2009, he featured in the film Acid Factory, New York, in which he appeared as FBI agent. By now he was regular in Hollywood Films and even in TV series. His other famous film was Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, which became a critical and commercial success worldwide.

Simultaneously he continued acting in Bollywood films also, his lead role in Paan Singh Tomar (2012),  the role of real life athlete who turned dacoit, won him National Film award for Best actor and Filmfare Critic award for Best actor. His next film to gain world wide recognition was The Lunch Box, the film was real a treat to watch and his performance as soon to be retired executive was one of his best. He also made  guest appearances in the films The Xpose and Haider.

In 2015 came a film called Piku where he shared screen with Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. This is one film where you could not have imagined any one else in the role of private taxi operator Rana. The film was highly acclaimed and all the three leading actors of the film were appreciated. His performance in Talvar, and Jajbaa, in both the films he was law enforcing officer. In Hollywood he was next seen in Inferno with Tom Hanks.

The high of his career came in 2017, when he appeared in 2 films Hindi Medium and Qarib Qarib Single. The former was commercially and critically successful, where his portrayal Of Raj Batra won him Filmfare Best actor Award. Qarib Qarib Single was a great film with superlative performance by him, fared average on the box office. In 2018, he appeared in Karwan, and Blackmail, both were average film but his acting was appreciated.

His last appearance was in Angreji Medium which was released in March 2020, but the film’s run was as closure of cinema halls due to corona virus pandemic.

Personal life- He married Sutupa Sikdar in Feb 1995, it was  love marriage, she was his fellow NSD graduate. They have two sons. In 2012 he changed his name from Irfan to Irrfan, as he like the sound of extra r in his name. He later dropped Khan also from his name, as he wanted his work to define film and not his lineage.

In March 2018 , he was diagnosed with Neuroendocrine Tumour. He sought treatment in UK and returned to India in Feb 2019. He resumed his work in Angreji Medium, but overall his health was not in good condition.

He was admitted to hospital in Mumbai on 28^th Apr 2020 for colon infection. He died the next morning.

Till date he is the only actor who has won Filmfare awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Villain.

It is very rare in Bollywood, where nepotism is widely prevalent, that a actor who started his career by doing bit roles reaches such a great height, the first person which comes to my mind is Sanjeev Kumar & next one is Irrfan Khan. Both lost life at an early age , Sanjeev Kumar died because of heart ailment at the age of 48 and Irrfan due to cancer at the age of 53.

In the end Irrfan Khan REST IN PEACE.

This was my humble tribute to the great artist.

Awaiting your views/feed backs/comments.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

8^th May 2020.