The veteran actor Mohammad Irrfan Khan, bid adieu to the world on 29th April 2020. He had been battling neuroendocrine cancer and this caused a rough patch in his career. Irrfan, an exceptional actor, was known for his power-packed performances. He extended his career through his unconventional adepts. He was not confined to just Hindi cinema but was equally flamboyant in Hollywood films as well. Irrfan was so versatile in his performances that any genre was a cakewalk for him.
From being a professional nerd in “Life in a Metro”, a determinist in “Paan Singh Tomar”, brute in “Haasil” to being a romantic in “Piku” and a lonely widower in the “The Lunchbox”, Irrfan mastered everything. All of Irrfan’s roles leave a lasting impact on his audience because when they see him on screen, they truly believe in what his character stands for. That’s how good he was!Irrfan may not be with us anymore but certainly, his gift to cinema will always be with us and will be cherished by generations.
Irrfan believed acting was the only thing he would be good at since his early days. He went to the best institute in the country, the National School of Drama to pursue acting. He educated himself and learnt about literature, world politics, etc. to be better at the art. He had a passion for making quality cinema. But he didn’t always get the best films to work in because Bollywood is too crazy about razzmatazz. He admitted that sometimes he played roles just for the sake of not going out of work. But, he was a feather in the hat even for poor scripts. Irrfan’s work has a different kind of shine that won’t ever get a scratch.
In an interview to an online channel, Irrfan anchored the idea that fame and stardom are transitory in nature but what is actually evergreen is the experience one gains through the journey. His intensity for fetching the experience can be calculated when he refused few movies offers just for the fact that it was too early for him to land in big-budget movies.
For instance, Irrfan was denied for his VISA in the UK for the gruesome fact that he was Muslim. His surname got him in trouble. He said, “Why does an individual’s religion have to be a problem for anyone when it is a private affair and should not be dominated by a third party?”
Irrfan faced a lot of flak for not being very fluent in English. Khan believed that mastering the colonial tongue doesn’t make anyone better off. It is our deeds and personality that makes us good communicators of our feelings. A very old Instagram post on his handle is about how he would style his hair like Mithun Chakraborty. But after a few days, his hair would be flat and he would be dissatisfied. Yet, he never disparaged his looks.
Khan mentioned that actors like Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bacchan were not among the extraordinary charming looking people. People think they are charming because of their great work and the memorable roles they played. Irrfan sure was an unconventional gem. He was a critics’ favourite and was always applauded for his approach towards the character. Who thought that it was the last time we will be entertained by Irrfan in Angrezi Medium?
All your roles, Saajan Fernandez, Roohdar, Rana Chaudhury, Yogi, Champak, and many more are all still in our hearts and will always be, Irrfan.