Irrfan Khan
☼ Born on 7 December 1967, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
† Died on 29 December 2020, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, cause colon infection
Biography
Born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, in Jaipur, Rajasthan (NW India) January 7, 1967 to a Pashto-speaking Muslim family. Khan's mother, Begum Khan, was from the Tonk Hakim family and his father, Jagirdar Khan, from the Khajuriya village near the Tonk district, ran a tire business.
The Khan family name comes from Turkish and Mongol languages and mean "king" or great leader. Descendants of Genghis Khan (13th century) in central Asia adopted Islam and became the Moghuls, who conquered India for several centuries until British rule.
Irfan was a skilled cricket player. In his early 20's he was selected for the CK Nayudu Tournament (a stepping stone to First Class cricket). He did not turn up for the tournament owing to lack of funds and as a result he focused on acting.
In 1984 he earned a scholarship to the National School of Acting in New Delhi.
He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honor for his contribution to the field of arts.
His portrayal of Paan Singh Tomar in the acclaimed biographical sports drama Paan Singh Tomar (2011) won him the National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor. His performance in the BAFTA Award nominated romance The Lunchbox (2013) earned him universal acclaim by the critics and audiences.
Globally, Khan was in The Warrior (2001), The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012
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), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016). As of 2017, his films have grossed $3.643 billion at the worldwide box office. In 2018, Khan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor.
Khan got married to his wife Sutapa Sikdar, in 1995. She is a Hindu of the Brahmin caste. She is a movie producer, dialogue writer and screenwriter. Among her famous movies are Khamoshi: The Musical (Dialogue Writer, 1996), Supari (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Kahaani (Dialogue Writer, 2003), Madaari (Producer, 2016), Qarib Qarib Singlle (Producer, 2017)
They have two kids: Ayaan Khan, Babil Khan
Unlike most Indian film stars, Irrfan has been outspoken on religion. On Arnab Goswami's talk show, he took on Muslim fundamentalists, including India's Grand Imam. Irrfan Khan argued against "transactional religious interaction" and for "personal religious discovery"..."to discover yourself, to find God". Though he admits he is "not an authority" on the Koran and Islamic Holy scriptures he has bravely stood by his comments despite heavy criticism and even threats of violence. He's aware of the dangers that his frank comments pose to him and his family. His wife commented, "We are very proud of him."
In the role of actor
Inferno (29/10/2016)
Professor Robert Langdon returns to solve puzzles pointing towards a biological weapon in Inferno. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes up in a hospital bed in Florence, Italy, which no recollection how he go there. Dr. Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) tells him that he is suffering from amnesia following a blow to the head. After an armed […]
Jurassic World (13/06/2015)
The park is finally open in Jurassic World. Two decades after John Hammond’s original vision, the dinosaur theme park on the Central American island of Isla Nublar is finally open and thriving. However, the pressure in on the park’s operations manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to create new exciting attractions to keep up the interest of […]
Life of Pi (29/11/2012)
Life of Pi is the new film by director Ang Lee and is about an Indian boy named Pi, who is stranded in a lifeboat after a ship sinks, with his only company being a Bengal tiger. The film is a very spiritual and mystical film and religion plays a very big role in the […]
The Amazing Spider-Man (04/07/2012)
If nothing else, The Amazing Spider-Man can be seen as an experiment about how responsive an audience would be towards a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, only five years after the last film (and a decade after the first film). Those in the know are aware to the fact that this film was created as a way […]
Slumdog Millionaire (21/11/2008)
While it may sound cheesy using Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? as the basis for a story about finding a lost love in India, but it actually works out. The story takes place mainly in flashbacks. as the main character, who is being interrogated by police on suspicion of cheating on the game show, […]