Irrfan Khan (1967-2020)
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 2:30PM by Nathaniel R
The very last screen shot of Irrfan Khan in the cinema. From the film Angrezi Medium (2020). (Hat tip)
In truly terrible news the great Indian actor Irrfan Khan has died of cancer at just 53 years of age. His passing came just four days after his own mother passed away... though he was well enough a month ago to be tweeting and supporting what would become his last picture Angrezi Medium.
The international star had recently headlined the popularPuzzle (2018) co-starring Kelly Macdonald but he was diagnosed with cancer that year and hadn't been working much since. The beloved Bollywood star actually began his big screen career in an Oscar nominated film. It was Mira Nair's breakthrough Salaam Bombay (1988) which became India's first Oscar nominee in the Foreign-Language Film category. A success in Bollywood in the 1990s, Irrfan crossed over into international stardom in the mid Aughts with a series of fine performances in well received English language films...
His cameo in the Oscar-nominated classic "Salaam Bombay" (thank you for the image, Joy)
In "A Mighty Heart" with Archie Panjabi and Angelina Jolie
His films that made it to the US included The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), A Mighty Heart (2007, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at this very site!), New York I Love You (2008), and Slumdog Millionaire (2008). More recent credits have included tv roles in Tokyo Trial (2016) and In Treatment (2010) and supporting parts in both the Oscar winning Life of Pi (2012) and the mega smash Jurassic World (2015) as well as the leading role in festival / arthouse favourite The Lunchbox (2013). His acclaimed Hindi language performances include but are not limited to Haasil (2003), Life in a Metro (2007), Seven Sins Forgiven (2011), Paan Singh Tomar (2012), and Haider (2014).
Those souful weary eyes, his unmistakable acting chops, and the specificity of his warm big screen charisma... oh how he will be missed.
As we mourn, here are some shout outs and honors that are pouring in online. He was widely loved and admired.
This quote about Irrfan Khan from Tom Hanks is one hell of an honorific. pic.twitter.com/rwnrVFl0nI
— Bekka (@valhallabckgirl) April 29, 2020
Rest in peace IrrfanKhan sir
— kathir (@am_kathir) April 29, 2020
You will always be missed
but u still live in hearts of millions.. #RIPIrrfanKhan pic.twitter.com/gWOHNfvwBU
Rest in peace one of the greatest actors of our time, Irrfan Khan. I never met him but he was an inspiration and a hero to me and millions of others. His work was consistently transcendent, he was a guiding light for so many of us. pic.twitter.com/BwobeLvNLn
— Riz Ahmed (@rizwanahmed) April 29, 2020
A grateful fan of #IrrfanKhan here. Gone too soon. When he is on screen, you can’t take your eyes off of him. He lives on in his films. pic.twitter.com/aA9RAjsxSl
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 29, 2020
I met Irrfan Khan when he worked with @JacindaBarrett on The Namesake. One of the most pleasant, down to earth, and gentle beings in the few times I had with him. What a beautiful actor as well. Blessings to he and his family. #RIPIrrfanKhan https://t.co/R2CYNP6Sks
— Gabriel Macht (@GabrielMacht) April 29, 2020
Deeply sad to have lost #IrrfanKhan. A thoughtful man who found beauty in the world around him, even in pain. In our last correspondence, he asked me to remember “the wonderful aspects of our existence” in the darkest of days. Here he is, laughing. pic.twitter.com/8eAsSOO9Ie
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) April 29, 2020
The loss of Irrfan Khan - at such a young age - is devastating. He was my favorite actor. I can’t think of someone who gave such layered and thoughtful performances but was also a movie star; you couldn’t take your eyes off of him onscreen. Love and peace to his family. pic.twitter.com/OjwhNgXgJu
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) April 29, 2020
".....not taking a moment to say Goodbye" .
— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) April 29, 2020
Sandy tribute to the legendary Bollywood Actor #IrrfanKhan . My SandArt at Puri beach in Odisha. pic.twitter.com/xxLUikjtXk
Reader Comments (18)
His last name is Khan, not Kahn
Very sad indeed. I also loved him in A Mighty Heart.
Oh shit. He always seemed like a very nice guy in interviews, and I liked him a lot in Salaam Bambay. What terrible news.
This news really saddened me today. He was such a likeable actor with an adorable face and a gentle, warm manner. A man to look up to.
So so sad. I loved him in The Namesake and Life of Pi. He was one of those actors whose greatness was taken for granted. Rest In Peace.
I saw it on Twitter last night and just a few days after his mom's funeral. That really sucks. I really liked watching him. The Namesake, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire, his cameo in The Darjeeling Limited, A Mighty Heart. An actor's actor.
What a loss! I'm furious about this. Terrific actor. His work in The Lunchbox, Life of Pi and In Treatment was awards-worthy.
Just this weekend saw "Slumdog Millionaire" for the first time. Such presence! Rest in Peace
Really touched to see this obituary on TFE. Thank you Nathaniel. He really did us Indians proud on the global scale. Despite the behemoth that Bollywood and Indian cinema is, we've never really had our films or actors crossover. Irrfan was a rarity, and a deserved one.
What makes Irrfan's passing away sadder is that, even as the whole country was dealing with his death yesterday, we woke up today to the news of the passing away of one of India's ensuring star Rishi Kapoor. Rishi, hailing from the Kapoor clan known as the First Family of Bollywood, was son to the Showman Raj Kapoor and graduated from a chocolate hero in his youthful days to a superb character heavyweight in the last decade when he was in his 60s. Irrfan and him shared screen space in the fabulous what-if thriller D-Day that imagines a successful manhunt for India's most wanted Dawood Ibrahim.
RIP Irrfan and Rishi 🙏
If you want to have for yourselves a Bollywood specific Irrfan Khan film festival at home, I'd suggest the following of his films-
SALAAM BOMBAY! (promising beginning in a bit part)
DRISHTI (first supporting role)
EK DOCTOR KI MAUT (in great company of acting stalwarts)
THE GOAL (leading turn in a children's sports film)
HAASIL (breakout role as a scenery chewing bad guy)
THE BYPASS (acclaimed short, pairing with Nawazuddin, 'nuff said)
MAQBOOL (announces himself as an actor par excellence in this Mumbai crime world adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth)
LIFE IN A... METRO (a refreshingly light comical turn in an ensemble)
MUMBAI MERI JAAN (an almost non-speaking underrated performance in an underrated film)
YEH SAALI ZINDAGI (Irrfan at his lightest best in this uneven noirish caper)
PAAN SINGH TOMAR (arguably his best performance, an affecting biopic of an athlete turned dacoit)
THE LUNCHBOX (his biggest international hit, even if not in numbers)
D-DAY (crackerjack what-if thriller about India's manhunt for its most-wanted, features the other untimely loss of this week Rishi Kapoor)
HAIDER (stealing a film with just a cameo as a spectre of sorts in this geopolitical adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet)
PIKU (sharing screen space comfortably with star actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone in this light commercial entertainer)
TALVAR (vintage Irrfan in a procedural revealing bureaucracy and incompetence)
MADAARI (Irrfan headlining a film for the first time in this vigilante drama)
HINDI MEDIUM (his first star turn really)
QARIB QARIB SINGLLE (Irrfan spreading his wings as a romantic lead)
BLACKMAIL (hilariously muted turn in a black comedy)
KARWAAN (his last good film, a road movie)
ANGREZI MEDIUM (for sheer emotional value of it being his last film, a sequel of sorts to the bigger hit Hindi Medium)
Very sad indeed. I also loved him in A Mighty Heart.
Very sad indeed. I also loved him in A Mighty Heart.
Devastating loss. He had such a compelling presence. Far, far too young to leave us.
Abzee: Thanks for these great recommendations!
Abzee -- what edward L said. REALLY appreciate the suggestions as I dont know his Hindi films outside of his debut
Edward L. & Nathaniel- Thanks. It was the least I could do.
This is a wonderful actor
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