My friend Irrfan Khan

By Asjad Nazir

A lot has been written about Irrfan Khan the actor since he tragically passed away aged 53 and the supremely gifted talent has received deserved praise for all the magnificent performances he delivered in a wide array of projects. Beyond the global cinematic success, his was an inspiring journey that showed everyone the most impossible dreams can come true and one remarkable story from his extraordinary life sums it up best.

When the first Jurassic Park released in 1993, he couldn’t afford to buy a ticket to see the Hollywood blockbuster, but in the fourth film of the mega-franchise Jurassic World (2015), he played the billionaire owner of the theme park filled with dinosaurs. This illustrated an extraordinary rise from rags to international stardom, where the trained actor went from over a decade of struggle to gaining recognition globally for his talent. Once he got that big break in British film The Warrior (2001), he was unstoppable, starring in successful films like Maqbool (2003), The Namesake (2006), A Mighty Heart (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Life Of Pi (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Piku (2015), Inferno (2016) and Puzzle (2018).

But there was a parallel second cinematic story that people were not aware of, which was very much connected to the star remaining connected to his humble roots. Acclaimed director Danny Boyle revealed how much of a role Irrfan played in getting Oscar winning blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire made and many other popular projects only happened because of his support.

His belief in The Lunchbox (2013) got a project directed by debutante Ritesh Batra financed and it became arguably the biggest crossover Hindi language movie of all time. Other huge hits that only got made because of his faith in them included blockbuster hits Paan Singh Tomar (2012) and Hindi Medium (2017), which both earned him well-deserved acting awards.

Even though he was being offered projects by the biggest Hollywood filmmakers, he never disconnected himself from Indian movies or independent cinema and always championed new voices. Irrfan never forgot his struggle and gave many new creative voices a start. Today Hollywood is the most multi-cultural it has ever been and Irrfan can take a large credit for that.

That humility spilled over into his real life and is what I will remember most about my friend Irrfan Khan.

He was always excited about life, loved meeting new people and treated everyone equally. If we were at a restaurant, he made it a point to speak to the staff and always made time for fans wanting a photograph or a chat. While Irrfan was battling the neuroendocrine tumours, I was blessed to spend time with him and there are many beautiful moments I remember, which summed up Irrfan wonderfully well.

We went to see one of his films at a London cinema when it released after his illness. He disguised himself and sat next to me, with the audience unaware the lead star was in the cinema with them. On another occasion we saw Hollywood film Puzzle before it released and he was unsure about it, but I told him it would receive rave reviews, which it did. When we watched sports matches, he rooted for the underdog and loved discussing classic cinema with me.

I will also remember his fighting spirit. When Irrfan shocked everyone, by revealing his illness sympathy poured in from all over the world, but he had no time for self-pity and we were on the Internet looking for the best specialists to help him fight the terrible disease. He remained positive, carried on loving life and cherished loved ones, including his wonderful family. His wife Sutapa Sikdar stood by him throughout his illness like an unshakeable rock and protector. Seeing the immense love they shared is something that will remain with me forever.

Irrfan also remained connected to cinema till the very end and fought through the pain barrier to make one last film, Angrezi Medium. Even though he was desperately ill, acting offers continued to pour in from all over the world and he continued looking at new work that was coming out. We also talked about his dream role and how he had been preparing for it his whole life, but sadly that dream didn’t come true. Many other dreams did become a reality and they will keep his light shining on forever.