Tribute: The Brilliance Named Irrfan Khan!
It is still difficult to digest. Bollywood suffered an irreplaceable loss! National Award-winning actor Irrfan Khan breathed his last early on 29th April, 2020 at the age of 54. The actor is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikdar and two sons, Babil and Ayan.
"Irrfan was buried at the Versova kabrastan in Mumbai at 3 pm this afternoon soon after the news of his passing away was announced. In presence were his family, close relatives and friends. Everyone paid their final respects and mourned the loss of his passing away,” said by an official statement from his spokesperson.
In March 2018, Khan revealed he had been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour. Disclosing his health state he said, "It’s been quite some time now since I have been diagnosed with a high-grade neuroendocrine cancer. This new name in my vocabulary, I got to know, was rare, and due to fewer study cases, and less information comparatively, the unpredictability of the treatment was more. I was part of a trial-and-error game.”
After the extensive treatment he recovered well enough to shoot Angrezi Medium, but the film that would turn out to be his last. Irrfan was again admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection earlier this week on 28th April. Unfortunately, he surrendered to his ailment.
Love story with his wife:
Irrfan and Sutapa met as classmates in National School Of Drama (NSD). Irrfan and Sutapa fell in love. Their love for cinema and art, that resulted in deep discussions escalated their romance.
The two got married on February 23, 1995, completing 25 years of marriage this year. In all these years they have endured several highs and lows, both professionally and personally. Sutapa is a film dialogue writer herself, with films like Khamoshi, Shabd and Kahaani to her credit. She later turned producer with Madaari (2016) and Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017), both starring Irrfan in the lead.
In March 2018, right after Irrfan's diagnosis, Sutapa had called Irrfan a ‘warrior’ in a social media post and there, Irrfan had said about Sutapa in an interview to a leading tabloid, "What to say about Sutapa? She is there 24/7. She has evolved in care-giving and if I get to live, I want to live for her. She is the reason for me to keep at it still."
His career-defining movies:
Khan was born as Saahabzaade Irfan Ali Khan in Jaipur in 1966, the son of a tyre seller, and went to drama school after failing as a cricketer. He struggled to make headway in the film industry, despite being cast in a small role as a letter writer in Mira Nair’s 1988 Salaam Bombay.
He was keen to work in films but the early roles were in India's TV soap operas. With multiple domestic daily dramas like Chanakya, Chandrakanta, Banegi Apni Baat and Shyam Benegal's Bharat Ek Khoj. The work was easy to come by but artistically unsatisfying.
Khan’s breakthrough role came from an unlikely source; the feature debut of then unknown British director Asif Kapadia with ‘The Warrior’ that was shot in India. Released in 2002, The Warrior was selected for the prestigious San Sebastián film festival and won the Bafta award for the ‘Best British Film’.
Close to home, Maqbool directed by Vishal Bhardwaj in 2003 was Irrfan Khan's earliest, and perhaps most overwhelming, success at home. The film was Mr Bhardwaj's adaptation of Macbeth into an Indian setting. Irrfan was cast as Miyan Maqbool, the film's equivalent of Macbeth.
In Michael Winterbottom's 2007 drama ‘A Mighty Heart’ starring Angelina Jolie, Khan portrayed the role of Karachi Police Chief.
He starred in ‘Life In A Metro’ the same year, as well as in two Hollywood productions, ‘The Namesake’ and ‘The Darjeeling Limited’. ‘The Namesake’ was based on Jhumpa Lahiri's novel of the same name. Irrfan played a Bengali man who leaves Kolkata and settles in New York.
In 2008, amid a bunch of Bollywood movies, Khan starred in Oscar-winner ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
In 2012, Irrfan Khan was seen as and in ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, playing the Indian athlete, rebel and soldier. Irrfan won the Best Actor National Award for this Tigmanshu Dhulia-directed biographical drama. The film won Best Feature Film award.
Along with ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, the year 2012 was iconic in Khan's career as it gave two more big releases - Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man and Ang Lee's Life of Pi.
He went on quickly rise up the ranks to feature in several Academy Award-winning Hollywood films with all these mentioned films, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and critically acclaimed films including ‘The Namesake’, ‘A Mighty Heart’ and even featured in worldwide box office hits.
In 2013, with the film ‘The Lunchbox’ came the splendid performances by Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The three central performances were terrific, with Irrfan and Nawazuddin striking up a duet that was absolutely spectacular.
The last of Vishal Bhardwaj's Shakespeare trilogy, 2013's ‘Haider’ set in the politically-turbulent Kashmir and is a perfect example of how Irrfan Khan's impact on screen is not at all related to the duration of his screen presence. As Roohdaar, he played a companion of Haider's or Hamlet's father from his time in a detention camp.
Shoojit Sircar's 2015 film ‘Piku’ fondled the fine lines between intensity and ethereality. The offbeat pairing of Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone with Amitabh Bachchan worked in perfect harmony.
Again, in 2015, the electric drama ‘Talvar’ which told the story about the 2008 double murder case; Irrfan played the chief investigating officer. Irrfan Khan’s flawless characterisation made it difficult for everyone to take their eyes off-screen.
His method of acting:
Back in the day when he was in the National School of Drama, he says, generating emotions used to be his main concern. “I could indicate to public my thought process through my gestures but how to generate emotions was my main concern.”
He further enlightens about his method of acting, “The most important thing that I have learnt from the drama school that you should keep a check on yourself all the time. You should watch your mind, your body, your heart. You are not guided by your impulses. You have a better dialogue with yourself. When you are swayed by anger there is another person inside you who keeps a watch on you.”
The process of becoming an altogether different person in front of the screen is not as easy as it seems. Commenting on the process, he had said, “Internalisation is something that gives you an experience of doing a role. My whole idea of becoming an actor is to experience something that you haven’t. For me the whole point of becoming an actor was to be somebody else. To live that person. Otherwise, sometimes, I am boring for myself.”
Not all actors internalise their characters that intensely. A fine example is Bollywood veteran actor Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, who seems to have the capability to be attached and detached with the character at the same time. Irrfan says he tried to understand his method, “The way he (Bachchan ji) approaches the character, the kind of dedication and alertness he has. At this age, he is ready to be raw clay eager to be moulded. And yes he says he doesn’t identify with the character but still he enacts them with such conviction.”
Irrfan also had mentioned that no two actors can be the same. There is no formula that everybody can apply. Acting is a process of searching one’s own method of playing the characters. It is a kind of a trial-and-error method. Nobody can teach in training school how to generate emotion.
That was all about the ingenious Irrfan in the cinematic universe, but there are interesting facts related to him that are not so popular like:
- He was born in the village of Tonk in Jaipur, in a well-off family with royal connections.
- He got a scholarship to attend NSD (National School of Drama) as a stroke of luck. He was pursuing an MA in Jaipur at that time. And he lied about having past theatre experience to get in.
- When Irrfan first arrived in Mumbai, he worked as an air-conditioner repairman.
- His movie Lunch Box is the only Indian movie to have ever won a TFCA (Toronto Film Critics Association Award).
- He read a lot and would stay up till 3 am to read through at least one new Hollywood script a week.
- He shared a beautiful relationship with his children. He stated that kids these days are exposed to many things so it's better to have a friendly relationship with children.
While everyone is talking about how he has left behind a legacy, we must remind you of what he had to say on this very topic:
“….So that's a useless thought. But I don't care. But I really don't care how would one be remembered. But that doesn't mean at all. Dilip Kumar, you know, I'm still in love with him, people forgot him. Few years he was away. So what does it mean? It means nothing. And everything you leave, which could be with the best intention, human beings are going to convert it into their own convenience and twist and they'll use you.”
Irrfan Khan’s mother Saeeda Begum died at the age of 95 on 25th April, 2020 in Jaipur. Irrfan couldn’t go to his mother’s funeral because of the nationwide lockdown.
Irrfan Khan is one of the brilliant actors the world has seen. His art was unparalleled and priceless. He will always be remembered, along with his parting words,
"Amma has come to take me"
Rest In Peace, Dear Irrfan Khan!
