I was just finishing up a different post when I saw the news that Irrfan Khan had passed away. So, so sad. Today is for Irrfan Khan, an extraordinary actor. When I was looking at his IMDB profile, I realized I’ve only seen a handful of his performances, but he brings so much to every role that I feel I know him well.
I first noticed him in The Namesake, Mira Nair’s wonderful adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s 2003 novel by the same name. I loved the novel and worried that the movie would oversimplify it, but the moment Irrfan Khan came on screen, he not only lived up to the character in the book, he made it deeper. He was an actor who expressed himself in the way he moved and breathed, the dialogue was just icing on the cake. Every ounce of him was revealing of character and story. I am so sad that he has left this world. He was only 53. I wanted to see him in more roles as he got older. He was one of those actors who shows you how to live.
Thelma and Alice 