An actor whose eyes narrate a sea of stories.
Irrfan Khan is a gentle dreamer with arresting eyes, a towering presence and an illustrious filmography. Most of us know the man only through the characters that he has played: Ashoke in The Namesake, Maqbool in the eponymous film, Rana in Piku, Saajan in The Lunchbox, and of course, Roohdaar in Haider. Today, these characters have made him a recognized name around the world.
Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star is an intimate and meticulously researched account of this refreshingly unique and unconventional Indian icon. Drawn from personal interviews and told through many voices, Aseem Chhabra traces Irrfan's personal and artistic life in all its many shades. Rich in detail and peppered with anecdotes, it is a fascinating look at the life and work of the actor which begin in a small household in Rajasthan and culminates in his face gazing down from billboards in Hollywood. It explores some of his greatest performances that have shown India and the world what cinema can do.
At the heart of this story, however, is a man, possibly the finest actor of his generation, his passion for the craft of acting and his love for unusual characters.
ASEEM CHHABRA is the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed books, Shashi Kapoor:The Householder, © Ashok Vish the Star (2016) and Priyanka Chopra: The Incredible Story of a Global Bollywood Star (2018). A film journalist, freelance writer and film festival programmer in New York City, he has been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mumbai Mirror, Rediff.com, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Outlook, BBC.com, Quartz, Scroll and Newslaundry; and has been a commentator on Indian cinema and popular culture on NPR, CNN, BBC, CBC, ABC's 'Good Morning America', Associated Press and Reuters.
Aseem is the festival director of the New York Indian Film Festival. He has also programmed Indian, Asian and international film festivals in Bangalore, Pittsburgh, Malta and Macao. He is the voice of Shadow Puppet #1 in Director Nina Paley's award-winning animated film, Sita Sings the Blues.
Aseem is from New Delhi, lives in New York, and visits India often. He can be followed on Twitter @chhabs.
In the fall of 2006, I was walking to my local subway station in Sunnyside, a middle-class neighbourhood in Queens, New York. It was early morning and I was running late for work. Suddenly, my cell phone rang and I stopped on the sidewalk. The call was from India.
'Hello, is that Aseem Chhabra? I heard from the other end. 'Yes,' I said.
“Sir, main Irrfan Khan bol rahan hoon, Mumbai se (Sir, I am Irrfan Khan calling from Mumbai.).
My heart skipped a beat. Was it really Irrfan Khan? I wondered, excited like a schoolboy. It sure sounded like him.
Yes, Irrfan Khan had called me.
Earlier, in September 2006, I had seen Irrfan in Mira Nair's The Namesake at the Telluride Film Festival, held in an exclusive ski town in south-west Colorado. Immediately after, I had written a long profile of the filmmaker for Mirror Buzz, a Sunday magazine that Mumbai Mirror used to publish. Naturally, the news peg was the world premiere of The Namesake. Irrfan had read my story, somehow gotten my number and called me in New York.
Kaisi hai film (How is the film)?' I heard Irrfan ask. Maine dekhi nahi abhi (I have not seen it yet).'
What had seemed like a regular morning suddenly seemed to be filled with promise.
I responded, “Irrfan Saab, kamaal ki film hai (It is an extraordinary film, Irrfan Saab). Your performance is heartbreaking. You made me cry.'
And I meant every word. Jhumpa Lahiri's honest, strong writing, as interpreted by Mira Nair, had created the moving, raw, gentle story of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguly. It had made a deep impact on me. As a first generation immigrant in the United States, I could relate to their struggles, their hopes, aspirations and disappointments. My path and story of immigration was somewhat different, but the heartfelt performances of Irrfan and Tabu spoke to me. I still cry watching Irrfan's Ashoke desperately trying to connect with his son Gogol (Kal Penn), failing to do so and then accepting his life, the way it had shaped out for him, as his fate. The Namesake made me proud and comfortable. Finally someone understood my life.
I knew it then. The actor was a rare shining star who could light up the screen with his quiet yet towering presence—Irrfan Khan, Bollywood's Roohdaar'. Its Ashoke", Maqbool and Rana“.
Ek aisa kalakaar jiski aankhein afsaane kehti hain. (An actor whose eyes narrate a sea of stories.)
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