Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan or Irrfan Khan, as he will always lovingly be remembered by many of his numerous fans, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in the Hindi film industry. His career in movies began in 1988 with Salaam Bombay! and in television with Shrikant from 1985 to 1986. Regarded as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema, Irrfan was equally well known for the roles he played in American and British movies.
In the over 30 years of his acting career, Irrfan Khan was a recipient of numerous awards among them the National Film Award, the Filmfare Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Asian Film Award, and an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. In 2011, Irrfan was awarded the Padma Shri, which is India's fourth highest civilian honour.
PERSONAL LIFE:
Irrfan Khan was born on January 7, 1967 in Jaipur, Rajasthan to Yaseen Ali Khan and Saeeda Begum Khan, who were from the Khajuriya village near the Tonk district. The family ran a tyre business.
CRICKET:
At a young age, Irrfan began to develop good cricketing skills and was selected for the CK Nayudu Tournament, for emerging players under the age of 23. However, he had to give up his dream of becoming a professional cricketer when he could not afford to buy a ticket to travel to Ajmer for the tournament.
On the chat show Son of Abish in 2017, Irrfan had said, "When I was selected, the team had to travel from Jaipur to Ajmer, and I needed Rs 200-250. I couldn't arrange it. So that day, I realised that I couldn't pursue this."
EDUCATION AND MARRIAGE:
Irrfan went on to complete his MA while in Jaipur and then joined the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi in 1984 to study acting. While at NSD, he met writer Sutapa Devendra Sikdar, who he married on February 23, 1995. They had two sons together, Ayaan Khan and Babil Khan. In his early days in Mumbai, Irrfan had worked as an air conditioner repairman.
NAME CHANGE:
In 2012, Irfan changed the spelling of his name to Irrfan as he liked the sound of the double 'r', and he is said to have dropped Khan from his name as he wanted his work and not his lineage to define him.
ILLNESS AND DEATH:
Irrfan Khan was in 2018 diagnosed as suffering from Neuroendocrine tumour, a rare form of cancer that can target various parts of the body. He left for the UK to seek treatment and was there for a year before he returned to India in 2019. Irrfan was still active and had even filmed for movie Angrezi Medium, which was released on March 13, 2020.
On April 28, 2020, Irrfan Khan developed complications and had to be rushed to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai where he was treated for colon infection. He unfortunately passed away on April 29, 2020 from the infection at the age of 53, and it was just four days after his mother's death in Jaipur.
Irrfan Khan's last words, as reported by Peeping Moon, were, "'Amma Yahin Hain, Mujhe Lene Aai Hain' (My mother is here next to me. She has come to fetch me)."
TELEVISION:
Irrfan Khan started his acting career with the television show Shrikant in 1985, and he followed it with Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), Kahkashan (1991), Chanakya (1992), Kirdaar (1993), Chandrakanta (1994), The Great Maratha (1994), Banegi Apni Baat (1995), Just Mohabbat (1996), Jai Hanuman (1997), Star Bestsellers (1999), Ssshhhh...Koi Hai (2001), Kyaa Kahein (Host-2004), Mano Ya Na Mano (Host-2006), Don (Host-2007), MTV Hero Honda Roadies 7 (2009), In Treatment (2010), Tokyo Trial (2016).
