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From Scratch to Hollywood: Happy B’day Irffan!
He is not the quintessential-looking B-Town actor, neither does have a godfather in the industry and nor has an overnight story to success. Rather, brick by brick, Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, better known as Irrfan, has carved a niche place for himself; both in Bollywood and Hollywood. The National Award winning actor, who gave new lease of life to ‘art’ or ‘serious’ cinema with his natural acting skills, intense looks and versatility will be celebrating his 49th birthday today. Irrfan began his journey from National school of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi and in 1988 kick-started his cinematic tryst with Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay. From the year 1994-1998 he was a regular face on TV. However, the big break came with British filmmaker Asif Kapadia’s The Warrior in 2001. Post that, there was no looking back. We bring you Irrfan’s Top 10 performances over the years, which have not only enthralled the critics but captivated the hearts of audiences and filmmakers.
MAQBOOL
In the film, Irrfan played the title character of Maqbool. It was his first collaboration with Vishal Bhardwaj, a film which saw him play a quiet and intense version of Macbeth, trying to murder his way up the Mumbai underworld ranks. Surrounded by the best actors in the business, from Pankaj Kapur to Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri to Tabu; Irrfan stole the show.
But it was for his first lead role in Bollywood for the film Rog, where one of the critics wrote, “Irrfan's eyes speak louder than his words every time he is in frame.”
PAAN SINGH TOMAR
The 2013 release was one of the finest performances of the actor. Essaying a real-life person for the first time, in a biopic, Irrfan got into the shoes of sprinter-turned-dacoit Tomar with complete perfection. The actor won National Award for Best Actor for his stellar act in the film.
THE NAMESAKE
Now this film marked Irrfan’s presence in Hollywood, wonderfully shaping his career in the west. This Jhumpa Lahiri adaptation saw Mira Nair cast Irrfan as Ashoke Ganguli. Arguably his finest performance till date, the actor’s young-age romance with Tabu, the way he rushes us into the world of the Indian immigrant experience – was nothing short of phenomenal. What more can be said, people loved it so much that The Namesake was adapted into a film starring Kal Penn in 2006!
HAASIL
Post doing many small roles and villainous characters, Irrfan broke the ice with winning Filmfare Best Villain Award for his role in the film Haasil. His performance of an ambitious, brash, fearless goon in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s 2003 cult film got the actor into limelight, earning him rave reviews for his negative role. Even Irrfan quoted later saying, “Audience wasn’t ready when Haasil released. People still watch it and relate to the film, especially today’s youngsters. But during that time audience wasn’t prepared because they didn’t have a place to watch these kind of films. Then multiplexes came and changed everything, pulling in the middle class crowd.Haasil was ahead of its time... So we had to wait a long time to do our kind of work.”
THE LUNCHBOX
His role as a dull, dutiful, loveless Saajan Fernandes who blossoms into a full-of-life romantic, Irrfan floored the critics and audiences with the film. The Ritesh Batra film became a box-office phenomenon at abroad, where it made successful rounds on the festival circuit. The New York Times considered it a Bombay anomaly, "a rare event when a quiet movie of unexpressed anguish and yearning emerges from this brash city", while Variety lauded it as "a feel-good movie that touches the heart while steering clear of expectation".
TALVAAR
This 2015 Meghna Gulzar directorial based on high-profile Aarushi Murder Case saw Irrfan in the role of a CBI officer. Irrfan’s nuanced performance was hailed by both critics and fans, and he is currently in the running for Best Actor in Supporting Role trophy this year. A class act, indeed.
LIFE IN A METRO
This Anurag Basu’s film was centred on nine-odd people living in Mumbai. Irrfan’s character, which just couldn’t wait to be married and have sex, and his chemistry with Konkona Sen Sharma, was by far the best character in the film. Irrfan won Filmfare Best Supporting Actor for this 2008 film.
LIFE OF PI
The 2012 Oscar Award winning Ang Lee film saw Irrfan essay the role of the older Piscine, Pi. The actor delivered a first rate performance, packed with warmth, humour and high on restrained emotion. It was a compelling performance from the versatile actor.
PIKU
The character of Rana Chaudhary, essayed by Irrfan, was brief, but the actor ended up delivering one of the remarkable acts by the actor. In Sircar’s toilet-humour flick, Irrfan skilfully made his presence among Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan, the lead actors of the film and owned the film as much as they did. In the running for this year’s Best Actor Award with Piku, guess it says a lot.
JAZBAA
2015 saw Irrfan do something out his league; he essayed a typical filmi hero material character in Jazbaa. The film was touted as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s comeback but gave Irrfan the chance to do some kick-ass dialoguebaazi and herogiri stu
Happy 49th Birthday Irrfan! We wish to see more stellar acts from you…
