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When Irrfan Khan added life to characters from literature on big screen

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Last updated on - Apr 29, 2021, 12:40 IST
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When Irrfan Khan brought characters from literature to life on the big screen

One of India's finest actors, Irrfan Khan was born on January 7, 1967. The legendary actor passed away at the age of 53 on April 29, 2020. Irrfan was diagnosed with endocrine tumour, a rare illness, in 2018 for which he had undergone treatment. A day before he passed away, he was admitted to an ICU due to colon infection. A gem of an actor and a person, Khan's impeccable, sensitive and honest acting helped him carve a niche for himself not just in Bollywood but Hollywood as well. He had the ability to lit up the big screen through his nuanced acting. So much so, that American director Wes Anderson once wrote a small part especially for Irrfan Khan in 'The Darjeeling Limited' so that he could work with the actor!

Irrfan Khan's untimely and sudden death is a huge loss for us and he will forever be remembered for his roles in movies like 'Hindi Medium', 'The Lunchbox', 'Piku', 'Pan Singh Tomar' among others. Not to forget, the actor also brought alive many characters from literature in their movie adaptations. Here we list down some memorable characters played by the legendary Irrfan Khan:

(Photo: Irrfan Khan/ Facebook)

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Pi Patel in 'Life of Pi'

Irrfan Khan played the grown-up version of Pi Patel, the protagonist in the Academy Awards' winning movie 'Life of Pi' directed by Ang Lee. The movie is based on Yann Martel's book of the same name. Khan was the main narrator in the movie as it is set in flashbacks. A heart-breaking scene from this movie in which Khan talks about life and death went viral on social media after the news about his death was out. "I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye," Khan says.

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Miyan Maqbool in 'Maqbool'

Irrfan Khan played the role of Miyan Maqbool in Vishal Bharadwaj's 2003 movie 'Maqbool', which is a Bollywood adaptation of William Shakespeare's timeless play 'Macbeth'. Through his acting par excellence, Irrfan brought the iconic character of Macbeth alive on the big screen and made it timeless.
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Ashoke Ganguly in 'The Namesake'

With his perfect Bengali accent and gestures, Irrfan Khan played the role of Ashoke Ganguly in the movie 'The Namesake' directed by Mira Nair. The movie is an adaptation of Pulitzer-winner Jhumpa Lahiri's novel of the same title. It follows the stories of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, first-generation immigrants from India to the United States, and their children Gogol and Sonia who were born in the US. Sharing insights about how Mira Nair casted Irrfan Khan in the movie, biographer Aseem Chhabra wrote in his book 'Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star', "From the beginning of the casting process, Mira was sure about one thing. ‘Irrfan was always going to play Ashoke Ganguli,’ she says." He was indeed a brilliant actor.

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Harry Sims in 'Inferno'

Irrfan Khan was seen along with Tom Hanks in the 2016 movie 'Inferno', which is an adaptation of Dan Brown's novel. Khan played the role of Harry Sims-- head of a global company which tries to solve overpopulation problems in the world.
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Police Inspector in Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning 2008 movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' is loosely based on author Vikas Swarup's novel 'Q & A'. It follows the rags-to-riches story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the slums of Mumbai. Irrfan Khan played a small yet memorable role of a police inspector in this movie and was seen along with other actors like Anil Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla in this.

(Photo: Danny Boyle, best director nominee, poses with cast members including Irrfan Khan at 81st Academy Awards in Hollywood/ Reuters)

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Copyright © Jun 5, 2026, 03.43PM IST Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service