Irrfan Khan Passes Away: Interesting Facts About India's Most Versatile Actor

Irrfan Khan, an actor known for his extraordinary and versatile acting skills and a face of India in Hollywood, passed away on 29 April 2020. The actor was widely loved and praised for his hardworking and humble attitude. His demise has left each one of us numb. After all, he was the man who not only played the characters well on screen but also made sure that we cherish those characters forever.

Irrfan Khan was battling neuroendocrine tumour, a rare kind of cancer, since 2018. He was being treated in London. On 28 April 2020, he was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai and it was reported that he had colon infection. The Paan Singh Tomar actor took his last breath in the same hospital at the age of 53. As India mourns his loss, we have curated some interesting facts related to the actor. Scroll down to read them.

Also read: Irrfan Khan Passes Away Of Colon Infection And Cancer; Know More About His Ailment

1. Many of you might not be knowing the real name of Irrfan Khan. He was born on 7 January 1967 into a Muslim Pathan family, erstwhile royals, and was named Sahabzade Irrfan Ali Khan.

2. His mother Begum Khan and father Jagirdar Khan belonged to Khajuriya village in Tonk, Rajasthan, and their ancestors were royals. Irrfan's father ran a tyre business.

3. Irrfan Khan has three siblings namely, Rukhsana Begum, Imran and Salman.

4. In his early years, Irrfan Khan was fond of playing cricket along with his best friend Satish Sharma. Khan was selected for the CK Nayudu Tournament for emerging players under 23 years. This was his initial step into the world of cricket. But due to the lack of money, he couldn't go to the tournament.

5. Destiny had some other plans for Irrfan Khan and therefore, while he was pursuing an MA degree in 1984, he earned a scholarship to study at the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi. This is where his journey of becoming an actor started.

6. Irrfan Khan moved to Mumbai after his graduation and worked as an air-conditioner mechanic. It is said that the first house that he visited as a mechanic was of Bollywood superstar and legendary actor Rajesh Khanna.

7. Inspired by the persona of Rajesh Khanna, Irrfan Khan decided to work hard in the Bollywood industry.

8. It was in the year 1988 when Irrfan Khan made his debut with the Mira Nair movie Salaam Bombay!. During this time Irrfan Khan was in the final year of NSD. The movie was later nominated for the Academy Awards.

9. Irrfan Khan married his fellow NSD graduate and writer Sutapa Sikdar in 1995. They became proud parents of two boys, Babil and Ayan.

10. Irrfan Khan added an extra 'R' to his initial name Irfan Khan in 2012. According to his wife, Irrfan loved the pronunciation of extra R in his name. It has nothing to do with astrology or numerology.

11. Sutapa always stood beside her husband and was his biggest support during his battle with cancer. She always encouraged him and made sure the actor never suffered alone.

12. Initially, Irrfan Khan acted in television shows namely, Chandrakanta, Chanakya, Banegi Apni Baat, Bharat Ek Khoj, Sparsh, and many more. He played the iconic role of a villain in the TV show Darr.

13. Irrfan Khan went on to work in many other TV shows until he got a break in Asif Kapadia's movie The Warrior in Britain. It is a historical film shot in Himachal Pradesh and in some parts of Rajasthan. The film was released in 2001 and it brought great popularity to the actor. He became a known face abroad as well.

14. In 2003, Irrfan Khan played the title role in the Vishal Bhardwaj movie Maqbool that was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

15. It was in 2005 when Irrfan Khan got the lead role in the movie Rog, which was widely praised by critics. It was said, "Irfan's eyes speak louder than his words and every time he is in the frame, be it talking to his buddy Manish or arguing with Suhel, he shows his capability as an actor."

16. He also appeared as a supporting actor in the box office hit Life in a...Metro by Anurag Basu. He won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for the film. His chemistry with actress Konkana Sen Sharma was praised. He also received the same award for his supporting role for the movie The Namesake, directed by Mira Nair and an adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's book of the same name.

17. Irrfan Khan won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the movie Paan Singh Tomar that was made on the real-life story of an athlete-turned-dacoit. This movie till date is considered to be one of his best movies.

18. Irrfan Khan starred in The Lunchbox released in the year 2013 opposite Nimrat Kaur. It won the Grand Rail d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2013. The movie also received a BAFTA Awards nomination and became one of the highest-grossing films of Irrfan Khan.

19. In the year 2015, Irrfan Khan played a vital role in the movie Jurassic World. Later, he went on to share the screen with Tom Hanks in Inferno, which was an adaptation of Dan Brown's book of the same name.

20. The film Hindi Medium, which was released in 2017, earned several accolades to the actor. He also won the Filmfare Award for the Best Actor. It became one of the highest-grossing films of 2017 and one of the most successful films of the actor.

21. His last movie was Angrezi Medium in which he played the lead role alongside Kareena Kapoor, Radhika Madan and Deepak Dobriyal. The movie was released on 13 March 2020 and was praised by the audience.

22. It was in the year 2018 when the actor announced that he was suffering from a neuroendocrine tumour. He went to the UK for his treatment and stayed away from work for a year. After returning to India, he completed the shooting of his movie Angrezi Medium.

23. His mother died on 25 April 2020. The actor couldn't attend the funeral of his mother due to his illness and the nationwide lockdown. The entire country is mourning over the loss of such a great actor.

Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs): Types, Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

May his soul rest in peace.