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Born in Rajasthan into a Muslim family of Pathans with Rajasthani ancestry , Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan spent his childhood in Tonk, and then Jaipur. His interest in Acting developed under the influence of his maternal uncle who himself was a theatre artist in Jodhpur. before joining the National School of Drama in 1984, he completed his MA in Jaipur and did several stage performances in the city. Soon after his graduation from NSD in 1987, Khan made his debut with Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! Cited in the media as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema, Khan’s career spanned over 30 years and earned him numerous accolades, including a National Film Award, an Asian Film Award, and six Filmfare Awards. It was due to the versatile and natural acting, people loved him all over the world. He always got under the skin of the character.
On his first death anniversary, we bring you the list of irrfan’s 10 best movies which you must watch.
The Warrior : It was also one of the films, short-listed for UK’s official entry for the Academy Awards but was ultimately dropped on grounds that the language was not indigenous to Britain. The Warrior is the story of spiritual transformation of a cruel warrior Lafcadia. The movie by British filmmaker Asif Kapadia unfolds taking you from Rajasthan to the Himalayas.
Paan Singh Tomar: Paan Singh Tomar is a biographical film about the eponymous athlete who was a soldier in the Indian Army and won a gold medal at the Indian National Games, but was forced to become a rebel against the system. Paan Singh Tomar achieved universal critical acclaim among the critics. On 18 March 2013, Irrfan Khan received the Best Actor Award for ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ at the 60th Indian National Film Awards. The award citation reads, “A unique delineation of a transformation of an international sportsperson to a dacoit. A difficult role very convincingly played. A well-calibrated performance that was masked by remarkably subtle underplay.
Haasil : is a 2003 Indian crime drama film directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. Irrfan Won filmfare award for – Best Actor in Negative Role for his portrayal of Ranvijay Singh in the movie.
The Namesake : is a English language drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Sooni Taraporevala based on the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Irrfan was Nominated for the “Best Supporting Male” in Independent Spirit Award. The Namesake depicts the struggles of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli (Irrfan Khan and Tabu), first-generation immigrants from the East Indian state of West Bengal to the United States.
Life in a… Metro: is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film co-produced, co-written and directed by Anurag Basu. The film was critically acclaimed for its story, screenplay, music and performances where irrfan won filmfare for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Monty who is in his late-30s, and eager to get married. His chemistry with Konkana Sen was one of the highlights.
The Lunchbox: is a epistolary romance film written and directed by Ritesh Batra. The film was screened at International Critics’ Week at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and later won the Critics Week Viewers Choice Award also known as Grand Rail d’Or. It was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival . The Lunchbox was nominated for the Best Film Not in the English Language category of the British Academy Film Awards 2015. Irrfan won best actor award at Asian Film Awards for his role of Saajan Fernandes
Hindi Medium : is a comedy-drama film written and directed by Saket Chaudhary. Set in Delhi, the plot centres on a couple’s struggle to get their daughter admitted to a prestigious English-medium school in order to rise in society. Khan’s portrayal as Raj Batra in Hindi Medium earned him several accolades, one of which was the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. His performance in the film earned him universal acclaim by the critics and audiences.
Life of Pi: is a adventure drama film based on Yann Martel’s 2001 novel of the same name. The storyline revolves around an Indian man named “Pi” Patel, telling a novelist about his life story, and how at 16 he survives a shipwreck and is adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Life of Pi emerged as a critical and commercial success, receiving critical acclaim, with the visual effects, Lee’s direction, Irrfan Khan’s performance, editing, cinematography and musical score garnering praise. Irrfan Khan plays the role of the protagonist in this movie. He eases himself into the role of grown-up Pi, a professor of philosophy. While he narrates his story, he creates this beautiful relation with his audience which is hard to say goodbye to when the movie ends.
Slumdog Millionaire: Khan played a police inspector in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, for which he and the cast of the movie won Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. About him, Danny Boyle said, “he has an instinctive way of finding the ‘moral centre’ of any character, so that in Slumdog, we believe the policeman might actually conclude that Jamal is innocent.” Boyle compared him to an athlete who can execute the same move perfectly over and over. “It’s beautiful to watch.”
Maqbool : is a crime drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj in an adaptation of the play Macbeth by Shakespeare. The plot of the film is based on that of Macbeth with regard to events and characterisation. Irrfan played the title role of Miyan Maqbool.Macbeth. This passionate film full of twists and turns is proof of the versatility and commitment Khan had to offer.
