Irrfan Khan overcame all obstacles to become one of the most popular performers in the country, despite coming from a humble family and starting little in the profession.
The man, a consummate artist, only wanted to delight his audience. He had no intention of becoming famous.
India lost one of its most excellent artists. Here are some lesser-known facts about Irrfan in his honour.
Irrfan has changed his name a few times.
Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan was Irrfan Khan’s real name.
However, the actor stated that the length of his name bothered him, so he abbreviated it to Irrfan Khan.
He loved the sound of the extra ‘R’ in his name, so he added it.
He is frequently referred to as Irrfan in movie credits and elsewhere.
Irrfan once aspired to be a cricketer.
Irrfan undoubtedly wanted to be a cricketer when he was little, but his parents were against it.
He finally chose to pursue a career in acting after receiving a scholarship to the prestigious National School of Drama (NSD).
In Mira Nair’s Academy Award-nominated classic Salaam Bombay!, he made his modest cinematic debut as a letter writer.
Irrfan’s first job – air conditioner repairman
Irrfan got a job as an air-conditioner repairman when he initially arrived in Mumbai. According to legend, one of the first houses he visited as part of his employment was late Bollywood actor Rajesh Khanna.
Irrfan’s connection with ‘Jurassic World’ before he starred in it
Irrfan acknowledged having a connection to the iconic genre long before receiving critical praise for his depiction of Simon Masrani, the proprietor of Jurassic World, in the 2015 film of the same name.
He claimed that during his hard times in the early 1990s, he wanted to see the original Jurassic Park picture but couldn’t because he didn’t have enough money.
Irrfan Khan once turned down a Christopher Nolan film.
Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, became one of the best science-fiction films of all time.
Guess who turned down a part in it?
Due to prior commitments to other films such as The Lunchbox and D-Day, Irrfan had to decline a critical role in the movie.
Other Hollywood films that he turned down were The Martian and Body of Lies.
Irrfan was a lucky charm for the Oscars
Irrfan was a good luck charm for the Academy Awards. He starred in two Award-winning Academy films, Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi, during his career. The groundbreaking films received a total of 12 Oscar nominations.