Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star

by Aseem Chhabra

‘Khan is a national treasure, a unique gifted Indian actor who uses his eyes, voice and other facial features to display the humour and then pathos in his characters.’

I loved him in Life of Pi (2012) and The Lunchbox (2013). In both the films, Irrfan’s characters live with so much pain, regret and a deep sense of loss that it is impossible not to cry with them.

But in Piku I saw Irrfan’s Rana slowly fall in love with Deepika’s Piku, especially when the two quietly exchange glances during the road trip.

‘There was something mysterious and fascinating in what these actors were doing,’

‘He has always been inquisitive about life and beyond. And since I was into astrology and things like that, we developed a special bond.’

‘Human beings are born to fly and to grow,’ he told Vinay Pathak. ‘If you can’t grow in your life, then there is no purpose.’

‘Umango bhari umar hai. Saare aalam ko fateh karne ka khwaab dekhne ki umar hai

He had a deep understanding that an actor didn’t have to explain everything by speaking.

Shyam Babu cast Irrfan on two television shows—the episode ‘Ward no. 6’ (1986), based on Anton Chekhov’s story, part of the Katha Sagar series, and Bharat Ek Khoj (1988),

And I told him, “Irrfan bhai, ek hi scene bacha hai (there is only one small scene left to be cast), the letter scribe one, which is a beautiful scene by itself.” Sooni had written a whole story in one scene. I said, “Yeh kar dijiye abhi (please do this for now), but I owe you.” He knew this and I kept my word.’

it would take a lot more to satisfy the actor in him.

‘Mehnat toh kar rahe hote hain, lekin agar woh mehnat dikh jaye, phir audience ka maza nikal jaata hai

I thought he was a rare actor who did not emphasize on all the emphatic words, which a lot of actors do. I realized this guy knows his craft.’

In 1995–96, he acted in a series called Darr, along with K.K. Menon. The series was directed by Abhinav Kashyap and written by his older brother Anurag Kashyap.

Irrfan cast Sadiya Siddiqui, a young actress he knew from Banegi Apni Baat, as the female lead for the show. For the male lead he selected a recent NSD graduate, Nawazuddin Siddiqui (class of 1996).

Much of those scenes are filled with Dario Marianelli’s score, at times breaking into soaring operatic music, the kind of experience one would get from watching Lawrence of Arabia with Maurice Jarre’s composition.

“The next time I come back, it will be with a movie, and I will walk on that carpet.”

That meeting went way beyond the 10 minutes that Irrfan had asked for.

There are some lovely delicate scenes between Ashoke and Ashima, where Irrfan and Tabu say a lot without really speaking.

‘They would just sit together in a kitchen over tea, and they would not say anything. That was what I called the love scene in honour of my Ammi and Dada, because that was what they would do.’

Irrfan gives us so many heartbreaking moments in the film, including the last time we see Ashoke Ganguli as he calls his wife from a pay phone booth at a Cleveland hospital.

One of the best performance of Irrfan.

That shot of Irrfan in the phone booth was inspired by a Garry Winogrand photograph.

‘Dustin Hoffman sat in the row right in front of me. But I couldn’t bring myself to tap him on the shoulder and introduce myself. How do you approach actors whom you’ve admired half your life? Maybe I need to learn that now.’35

‘When we were leaving, Irrfan looked disappointed, but then something incredible happened,’ Aditya adds. ‘Mark saw him, put his hand forward and said, “Hey man, I love your work.” And Irrfan probably saw sparkling lights all over.’

Some actors may find it a challenge when the director does not hold their hand. But for Irrfan it was a breath of fresh air.

‘It has to be right on the edge where it would work for everybody. You can have two versions of the story and they all can debate, make sense. That was the most difficult task, other than creating a tiger in the ocean digitally.’

‘I wept like a child. Not because I was overwhelmed having survived, although I was. I was weeping because Richard Parker left me so unceremoniously. It broke my heart.’

But I have to believe there was more in his eyes than my reflections staring back at me.

I suppose, in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go. But what will always hurt the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.’

But his end credit reads, ‘AND IRRFAN KHAN’, which is a special recognition for a supporting actor,

There are many such scenes in the film, but the one that affected me the most, even after having seen The Lunchbox five times, is the shot of him in the bus, his bulging eyes showing so much pain.

While writing The Lunchbox he was also reading the novel Norwegian Wood by the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Then, during the shoot, Ritesh was surprised to learn that Irrfan was also reading a Murakami book.

I think books are very helpful in capturing the tone of the film, even more so than movies. In fact, I don’t want to be watching a movie while I am making one.’

‘Doing puzzles is a way to control the chaos,’ Irrfan’s Robert says in the film. ‘When we complete it, that gives a perfect picture, our way to control the mess around us.’

he opted for a charming, quiet love story—Piku (also released in 2015)—where he also got a chance to play the love interest (in the most un-Hindi film way) of Deepika Padukone, and co-star with Amitabh Bachchan.

‘I don’t have a tendency to regret what I do, but knowing it’s a Christopher Nolan film, I can say that this has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made,’

The film Indian Summer, based on Alex von Tunzelmann’s book by the same name, focused on the final days of the British empire in India. The film was also supposed to explore the rumoured affair between Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten.

one of the best in his long career… Khan is a national treasure, a unique gifted Indian actor who uses his eyes, voice and other facial features to display the humour and then pathos in his characters.

‘There was no connection between the ghazal and the character. It was just a trigger,’

‘Darya bhi main, darakht bhi main. Jhelum bhi main, chinar bhi main. Dair bhi hoon, haram bhi hoon. Shia bhi hoon, Sunni bhi hoon. Main hoon pandit. Main tha, main hoon aur main hi rahoonga

He responds to the holistic grammar of the film, not just a part of it.’

‘The beauty of the character is he’s very strong from the outside, but if you look deep down, he’s a very fragile soul,’

and he responded he didn’t need to understand the language.’

A film like No Bed of Roses was the exact kind of challenge Irrfan Khan the actor wanted in his life—a film in a language he was not comfortable with, a character quite unlike any he had played and the chance to act in another country.

Everyday life can put down a person, sometimes make him do things that the person does not want to do.

Piku is a romantic film. There is clearly an attraction between Rana and Piku, but their romance—if that is what one can call it—is unlike anything that has ever been shown in a mainstream Hindi-language film.

but there are many relationships and friendships that are not fully explained,