Irrfan Khan: The World Is Not Enough

Not only has Irrfan Khan transcended geographical barriers, his presence has also more often than not proven to become a reliable indicator of the quality of a movie.

- Mohini Chaudhuri

Back in 2000, actor Irrfan Khan appeared in a nondescript cop drama called Ghaath. He was thrilled about landing the part of a menacing antagonist. But barely had he begun to display his acting chops when he heard murmurs of being replaced. “He’s just not working out,” is what the director had apparently said. The film’s lead protagonist and Irrfan’s National School of Drama (NSD) mate, Manoj Bajpayee, swooped in to save the day. It was on his insistence that Irrfan was granted a second chance. “When I went on set the next day, this was already playing on my mind,” recalls Irrfan. Then, breaking into laughter, he adds, “Finally, when the movie was being edited, they had to take out my scenes. But only because I was overpowering everyone else.”

The rejection ought to have pricked at the time. Yet, Irrfan speaks of his numerous misadventures with great amusement. “I hope I don’t sound like I hold any grudges. I feel it appears that way when I read my interviews,” he says, proceeding to narrate yet another humiliating experience, this time of his first-ever paid acting job at the age of 23. It was a blink-and-miss part in a TV show about freedom fighters. He was paid Rs 150—a princely sum for a man who was accustomed to surviving on a Rs 400 monthly stipend from NSD. “I never had more than a chavanni [25 paisa coin] in my pocket and that too, I never spent. My girlfriend bought me my cigarettes and beedi packets,” he says. The leading role of the freedom fighter was being essayed by a well established actor he would rather not name. “I’ll never forget his pink, rosy lips and shiny hair. I remember thinking to myself, ‘