In a career spanning 30 years, Irrfan Khan breathed life into every role he portrayed on the silver screen. An actor extraordinaire, he featured not only in dozens of Bollywood films but also starred in a number of critically-acclaimed Hollywood ventures to emerge as a truly international artiste. Cruel hands of fate may have snatched him away far too soon but Irrfan, who lost his battle with colon cancer on Wednesday, left behind a rich body of work to remember him by. Odisha Bytes looks back at Irrfan’s illustrious career and picks 10 of his must-watch movies. Viewers can watch these films on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar.
PAAN SINGH TOMAR
Released: 2012; Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia; Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mahie Gill
Irrfan plays the title role in this biopic on renowned Indian athlete Paan Singh Tomar who was a soldier in the Indian army. A gold medal-winning runner at the National Games, who is forced by the system turn into a rebel. Irrfan’s powerful portrayal was widely acclaimed and won him the National Award for Best Actor. The film, which also proved to be a success at the box office, was also adjudged the Best Film of the Year.
MAQBOOL
Released: 2004; Director: Vishal Bharadwaj; Cast: Pankaj Kapur, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri
The film is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth — where Irfan plays an old mafia don’s (Pankaj Kapur) henchman (Miyan Maqbool) who falls for his boss’ mistress (Tabu) and is instigated by her to kill the old man and become the new Don. Miyan is torn apart by his own ambition, his love for Nimmi and loyalty towards Abba ji. Ultimately he kills his boss but is haunted by the guilt and meets with a tragic end. Irrfan delivered a standout performance as a modern-day Macbeth.
LIFE IN A … METRO
Released: 2007; Director: Anurag Basu; Cast: Dharmendra, Nafisa Ali, Irrfan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kay Kay Menon, Kangana Ranaut, Sharman Joshi, Shiney Ahuja
Irrfan stands out in this multi-starrer which follows the lives of nine individuals who live and work in Mumbai. It also deals with the complexities of relationships and issues like extramarital affairs, marriage, and love. His chemistry with Konkona is the highlight of the film for which he was declared the Best Supporting Actor at the Filmfare Awards.
THE LUNCH BOX
Released: 2013; Director: Ritesh Batra; Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Irrfan plays Saajan Fernandes, a widower nearing retirement, who develops a unique friendship with Ila (Nimrat Kaur), a young and unhappy housewife. By sheer coincidence, Ila’s lunch box — intended for her husband — ends up with Saajan following of a rare mix-up by Mumbai’s famous “dabbawalas”. Ila realises the mix-up and sends a note of apology to Saajan in the lunch box. The two start exchanging messages through the lunch box and gradually open up about their own lives. Will their relationship take a new turn? Watch it, if you haven’t. Watch it again, if you have.
THE NAMESAKE
Released: 2006; Director: Mira Nair; Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Kal Penn, Sahira Nair
Based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake, the film deals with the struggles of a Bengali couple Ashok and Ashima Ganguly, played by Irrfan and Tabu, and their children, after they migrate to America from Kolkata. The English language drama received rave reviews at Toronto and New York City film festivals.
PIKU
Released: 2015; Director: Shoojit Sircar; Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan, Deepika Padukone, Moushumi Chatterjee
It is a delightful comedy based on a quirky relationship between a daughter Piku (Deepika) and her eccentric septuagenarian father Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) who suffers from chronic constipation. Rana (Irrfan) is the owner of a private taxi service in Delhi and realises his mistake soon after agreeing to drive the father-daughter duo to Kolkata. The long road trip takes the viewers on an emotional roller-coaster. Irrfan shines in his supporting role with his calm and witty demeanour.
HINDI MEDIUM
Release: 2017; Director: Saket Chaudhary; Cast: Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar
The film is about a Delhi couple’s ordeal to get their daughter admitted to a a reputed English-medium school in order to gain societal approval. The film’s aspirational theme touched a chord with the masses and it became a major box-office hit. It was declared the Best Film at Filmfare Awards while Irrfan was declared the Best Actor.
HAIDER
Released: 2014; Director: Vishal Bhardwaj; Cast: Shahid Kapur, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon
Irrfan make a significantly long guest appearance in this modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare masterpiece Hamlet. Set in an insurgency-riddled Kashmir in mid-Nineties, the film deals with mysterious disappearance of civilians in the valley. Haider (Shahid), a University student, returns to the valley to probe his father’s disappearance. Roohdar (Irfan), who hails from a separatist group, urges Haidar to avenge his dad, who he claimed had been tortured and murdered at a detention camp. Does Haidar succeed in his mission? The gripping finale is worth a repeat watch.
HAASIL
Released: 2003; Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia. Cast: Irrfan Khan, Jimmy Sheirgill, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Ashutosh Rana
The film is based on student politics. Aniruddh (Jimmy) and Niharika (Hrishitaa) fall in love but get caught up in a dirty game of college politics between two rival groups of students headed by Gaurishankar Pandey (Ashutosh Rana) and Ranvijay Singh (Irrfan Khan). When Aniruddh commits a crime — albeit unintentionally — he is forced to fight against his friend who turns out to be his foe. Irrfan’s powerful portrayal fetched him a Filmfare award for the Best Actor in a negative role.
TALVAR
Released: 2015; Director: Meghna Gulzar; Cast: Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Neeraj Kabi
The film is based on the 2008 sensational double murder of a teenage girl and her family servant in Noida. Irrfan plays the role of a CBI inspector who probes different angles following a botched up initial investigation by the local police.
HOLLYWOOD PICKS
Life of Pi (2012)
A Mighty Heart (2007)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Jurassic World (2015)
Inferno (2016)
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