Irrfan Khan filmography

A photograph of Irrfan Khan in 2015
Khan in 2015

Irrfan Khan (7 January 1967– 29 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian and British-American films.[1] His on-screen debut was a minor role in Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! in 1988.[2] He followed this with appearances in a variety of television shows in the late 1980s to 1990s including playing ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni in Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), Makhdoom Mohiuddin in Kahkashan (1991), Vladimir Lenin in Lal Ghas Per Neele Ghodey (1992), a dual role in Chandrakanta (1994), and Valmiki in Jai Hanuman (1997). Khan found his television work unfulfilling and considered quitting acting.[3]

His career experienced a turnaround with his breakthrough role as the lead in Asif Kapadia's The Warrior (2001), which won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.[3][4] He followed this with critically acclaimed villainous roles in Haasil and Maqbool (both in 2003).[5] For the former performance, where he played a devious politician, Khan received the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role.[6][7] In 2006, Khan portrayed a first-generation Bengali immigrant in the Nair-directed film The Namesake with Tabu and a hitman in The Killer.[8][9] The following year, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a 38-year-old man waiting to marry the right woman in Life in a... Metro, directed by Anurag Basu.[5][10] In 2008, he received international recognition for his role as a police inspector in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.[11][12]

Khan played the eponymous athlete-turned-bandit in Paan Singh Tomar and the adult version of the title character in Ang Lee's Life of Pi (both in 2012). For the former, he won the National Film Award for Best Actor; the latter was a critically acclaimed commercial success.[13] In 2013, he portrayed a widower who pursues an epistolary romance with a married woman in The Lunchbox with Nimrat Kaur.[11][14] The film, which he also produced, was a commercial success and received critical acclaim.[15] Three years later, he played supporting roles in Haider, Jurassic World, Piku, and the television miniseries Tokyo Trial, in which he portrayed the jurist Radhabinod Pal. In 2017, his performance as a father trying to get a place for his daughter in an elite English-medium school in Hindi Medium garnered him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and also became his highest-grossing Hindi release.[13][16][17] Khan starred as a widower in Angrezi Medium (2020).[18] It was to be his final role as he died later in the same year, aged 53.[1][19] He posthumously won Best Actor and Lifetime Achievement at the 66th Filmfare Awards.[20]

  1. ^ a b "Irrfan Khan, actor extraordinaire and India's face in the West, dies at 53". Hindustan Times. 29 April 2020. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Irrfan Khan Death Anniversary: The Actor's First and Last Movie". CNN-News18. 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b Iqbal, Nosheen (25 July 2013). "Irrfan Khan: 'I object to the term Bollywood'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  4. ^ "The Warrior (2001)". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 23 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference FFSA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Sharma, Sampada (4 July 2021). "Revisiting Haasil: Tigmanshu Dhulia's first film that put Irrfan Khan on the map". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Tigmanshu Dhulia remembers Irrfan Khan as Haasil completes 17 years". Filmfare. 16 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  8. ^ Rawat, Kshitij (12 March 2022). "The Namesake: Irrfan Khan, Tabu are exquisite in Mira Nair's contemplative immigrant drama". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Killer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Monty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Hayward, Anthony (19 May 2020). "Irrfan Khan: Actor who found international fame in Slumdog Millionaire". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. ^ Korn, Steven (20 December 2019). "Oscars: 'Slumdog' wins Best Pic". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  13. ^ a b Khanna, Kashish (28 June 2021). "Best Irrfan Khan Movies". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  14. ^ Brooks, Xan (13 April 2014). "The Lunchbox review – 'a quiet storm of banked emotions'". The Observer. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. ^ Harris, Gardiner (21 February 2014). "An Indian Appetizer, Subtly Spiced". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. ^ Mk, Surendhar. "Hindi Medium records higher box office opening than Dangal, Bajrangi Bhaijaan in China; Irrfan's highest grosser worldwide". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Saba Qamar speaks about Hindi Medium's win at Filmfare Awards". The News International. 18 January 2018. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  18. ^ Sharma, Devesh (18 March 2020). "Angrezi Medium Movie Review". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Angrezi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Basu, Nilanjana (11 April 2021). "Filmfare Awards 2021: An Emotional Tribute To Irrfan Khan; Babil Couldn't Hold Back Tears". NDTV 24x7. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.