Irrfan’s Hollywood Trajectory

To many it might come as a surprise that Irrfan’s foray into Hollywood stemmed from television. The deep-rooted frustration that got piled up with every passing day doing daily TV soaps took a toll on him. The daily straight-jacketed schedule of TV soaps that he was part of just did not allow him to explore his acting dimensions. He was annoyed and tired and was, well almost, on the verge of quitting acting forever. It was at this juncture in his life, his friendship with director Tigmanshu Dhulia helped him gain access to a territory he had never thought about. Tigmanshu was the casting director for BanditQueen and based on his superlative job of casting actors for Shekhar Kapur’s much-acclaimed film he was approached by UK-based director Asif Kapadia. Asif was on the lookout for a lead actor for a film funded by Film 4. Since the plot revolved around a warrior from India, the search brought him to India and he could manage to trace Tigmanshu through Shekhar Kapur. The name that was recommended by Tigmanshu was Irrfan.

The Warrior proved to be the perfect stepping stone to showcase his talent on a world platform. The film was nominated for three BAFTA awards and managed to win two. It was sheer ill-luck that the US rights for the film were acquired by Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax and the company kept postponing the release and then a time came when the film became stale.

The success of The Warrior did not pay much dividend to the brooding actor but thankfully his next few Hindi films like Haasil and Maqbool ensured that the chatter about him continued. It was only in 2006 that Irrfan could attain true blue success with Mira Nair’s The Namesake. The film opened floodgates of opportunities for the actor and the very next year he managed to act with Angelina Jolie in Michael Winterbottom’s A Mighty Heart, based on slained Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl. The very same year he appeared in Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited. Finally, the film that actually catapulted him to stardom came and post that there was no looking back. Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire managed eight Oscars and became the toast of the Academy Awards in 2009. Irrfan’s name was suggested to Danny by Peter Rice then senior executive at Fox Searchlights (now chairman of Walt Disney Television). He had told the director that if he was going to make a film in India, he should definitely cast Irrfan. Irrfan initially had rejected the offer as he had played a similar role in A Mighty Heart. “I lied, as you do, about how good the part would become. I’d have done anything to get him. He really pulls you in. You kind of float into him,” Danny had remarked in the book authored by Amy Raphael.

Soon he succeeded in establishing himself as an actor of merit. His communication through his eyes – became his hallmark. New York, I Love You in 2008 gave him an opportunity to know and interact with the movers and shakers of Hollywood. The segment directed by Mira Nair saw him opposite Natalie Portman.

Irrfan soon landed his first TV series which was produced by HBO. In Treatment saw him pitted against Gabriel Byrne and the intense and powerful performance saw him come out with flying colors. Irrfan’s performance in the series was highly acclaimed.

The Amazing Spidermantransported him to the big league. Director Ang Lee took notice of him in films like The Namesake and Slumdog Millionaire and approached him to star in Life of Pi. The film was a mega success and Irrfan post the success of Life of Pi became Hollywood’s own. As per Ang Lee he was not spoilt for choices for the role of senior Pi in his film. He had only a few actors at his disposal and Irrfan was on top of his list. In Aseem Chhabra’s book The Man, The Dreamer, The Star, he mentions, “Obviously I wanted to make an international film, but I also chose Irrfan for his good acting.”

In an interview to Al Jazeera after the death of the actor, Ang Lee had said, “Irrfan was a great artist, a true gentleman and a brave fighter. His passing away is cinema’s loss.”

The Lunchbox and Qissa were films which helped him reach the non-English speaking population. After the screening of The Lunchbox at the Cannes Film Festival, it was lapped up by exhibitors from more than 40 countries including those from Latin America and Europe. Qissa played more in Europe than in our own backyard. Jurrasic Park and Inferno were big ticket blockbusters which helped himbuild contacts with big Hollywood studios.

When Marc Turtletaub (producer of Little Miss Sunshine) decided to become director, his first port of calling was Irrfan Khan. In an interview to this author just before his cancer surfaced, Irrfan had remarked that the plot of Puzzle was such that he had no option but to be a part of it.

It’s equally important to mention here that Irrfan Khan had missed out a part in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Nolan had offered a role to the maverick actor but the commitment of four months to the film just did not suit him. He was required to stay in the US for four months at a stretch. The schedule interfered with the promotional activity for The Lunchbox and D-Day. This remains one of the most difficult decisionsofIrrfan’s career.

It also might come as a surprise to many that ace director Ridley Scott was desperate to work with the actor and had offered him roles in Body of Lies and The Martian. Irrfan rejected both the roles as they did not appeal to him much. His role in Body of Lieswas later played by Mark Strong while Oscar winner Chiwetel Ejiofor stepped into his role in The Martian.

It would be safe to assume that Irrfan Khan was Bollywood’s biggest export to Hollywood.

(This is an excerpt from our special May issue on Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan. Please click on this link  https://cineblitz.news/may_2020 to read more)

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