Irrfan Khan ? A Fire So Strong

It was expected. This man was an explosion of talent even when he did some small and big roles in theatre and television. All those who knew what real talent was were very sure that he was an actor who would not stop growing and would work his way to make a name for himself as one of the best actors not only in India but even had the ability to dream of reaching out and winning laurels in the world where every good actor aims to reach.

Irrfan Khan was born with a difficult name like Sahabzade Irrfan Ali Khan. He changed his name to Irrfan Khan and is now known only as Irrfan (is it because he doesn’t want to be in the competition with all the Khans whose clan only keeps growing with time?). His background as a boy belonging to a rich family in Jaipur  dealing with the tyre business and yet doing his M.A. and then winning a scholarship to train himself as an actor at the National School of Drama makes for an interesting  short story.

Like most other actors from the NSD, Irrfan also landed in Mumbai and within no time was a very successful and known name in television with his fascinating performances in serials like Chanakya, Bharat Ek Khoj, Sara Jahan Hamara, Banegi Apni Baat, Chandrakanta (Doordarshan), Anoo Goonj on Doordarshan, Star Bestsellers (Star Plus), and Sparsh. Much before these, he had acted in a teleplay on Doordarshan named Laal Ghaas Par Neele Ghode where he played Lenin. It was based on a translation by Uday Prakash of a Russian play by Mikhail Shatrov. He was the main villain in a series called Darr (which aired on Star Plus), where he played the role of a psycho serial killer, opposite Kay Kay Menon. He also played the role of the famous revolutionary Urdu poet and Marxist political activist of India Makhdoom Mohiuddin in Kahkashan produced by Ali Sardar Jafri.

He acted in some of the episodes of Star Bestsellers (aired on Star Plus). In one of the episodes (Ek Sham Ki Mulakat), his role was of a  shopkeeper who has a misconception that his landlord's wife is trying to seduce him and it turns out that his own wife (Tisca Chopra) is cheating on him. In the other one, he played the role of an office accountant who, after being insulted by his female boss, takes revenge. He also appeared in a serial called Bhanvar (aired on SET India) for two episodes. In one episode, he performed the role of a thug who somehow lands in court. Theatre and television kept him busy and gave him a decent living until Mira Nair offered him a cameo in Salaam Bombay" though his role was edited out in the final film.

He made his full-fledged debut in films with Ek Doctor Ki Maut and Such a Long Journey and other films which went unnoticed. After many unsuccessful films, things changed when the London-based director Asif Kapadia gave him the lead in The Warrior, a historical film completed in 11 weeks on locations in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Warrior opened in international film festivals, making Irrfan Khan a known face.

He then acted in the Indian born writer-director, Ashvin Kumar's short film, Road to Ladakh. After receiving rave reviews at international festivals, the film is now being made into a full length feature, again starring Irrfan Khan. At the same time he played the title role in the critically acclaimed Maqbool, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

He played his first main lead role in Rog in which his performance was praised by critics. One critic even wrote "Irrfan's eyes speak louder than his words and every time he is in frame, be it talking to his buddy Munish or arguing with Suhel, he shows his capability as an actor". He was then seen in other films either playing the leading role or a supporting role as a villain. He won the Filmfare Best Villain Award for his role in Haasil. Critics again praised his performance in Haasil saying that "as the ambitious, brash, fearless goon he is mind-blowing. He is outright scary and makes you sit up, wondering what he will do next".

He appeared in the box-office hits Metro, for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (the first among the many awards to come his way) and The Namesake. His chemistry with Konkona Sen in Metro was one of the highlights of the multi-starrer. These films were followed by his appearance in the international films A Mighty Heart and The Darjeeling Limited.

He however continued his association with television and did several shows in which he was the host in shows like Mano Ya Na Mano and  Kyaa Kahein.

He was featured as a narrator in an Arts Alliance production, id – Identity of the Soul. The performance toured worldwide, with tens of thousands turning out to see the event as it toured the West Bank. He also played the police inspector in Slumdog Millionaire, for which he and the cast of the movie won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Talking about him, Danny Boyle, the maker of Slumdog…" said, "he has an instinctive way of finding the "moral center" of any character, so that in Slumdog, we believe the policeman might actually conclude that Jamal is innocent". Boyle compares him to an athlete who can execute the same move perfectly over and over. "It's beautiful to watch him perform."

He featured in the film Acid Factory. Khan has stated that he wants to do more and more action films in the future. He also appeared as an FBI agent in New York and as a Gujarati diamond merchant in New York, I Love You. In Paan Singh Tomar he plays the role of a real-life Rajput runner. Paan Singh Tomar received extremely favorable reviews by critics. Irrfan has been highly praised. He has received his ultimate prize and recognition for his performance in Paan Singh Tomar with the National Award for the best actor.

He recently worked on the third season of the HBO series In Treatment, enacting the part of Sunil, who is finding it difficult to come to terms with his wife's death and loneliness after moving to New York, USA.

Among the films Irrfan’s performances have added dignity to are, Salaam Bombay, Karamati Coat, Gunaah, Maqbool, Charas; A Joint Operation, Yun Hota To Kya Hota (directed by Naseeruddin Shah), Aaja Nachle (Madhuri Dixit’s come back film), Mumbai Meri Jaan, Billoo Barber, 7 Khoon Maaf, Life Of Pi (in English and Hindi), Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 1 and 2", and there are many more  interesting films with him in the making.