Amid all the tragic news of recent months, Wednesday resulted in two devastating news items: the passing of Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor.
On Wednesday, April 29th, news broke that the remarkable actor Irrfan Khan had passed away. It was a shock to the system. Irrfan was a rare Indian actor whose talents were well known globally and that became evident from the touching tributes that have poured in from all corners of the world, from film fans to critics, movie directors to film festivals. Different people found his work at various times. Global film festival audience first took notice of him in Asif Kapadia’s THE WARRIOR which had a long run on the film festival circuit. The 2001 film actually played at CIFF in 2005. American audience may have first noticed him in Mira Nair’s THE NAMESAKE (2006). If people had still missed seeing any of his films during the 2000s, then surely Ritesh Batra’s lovely THE LUNCHBOX (2013) ensured that they finally caught up with him.
I can’t recall which movie of his first caught my eye but I was impressed by his presence in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s HAASIL (2003). However, Khan’s acting in Vishal Bhardwaj’s MAQBOOL, a brilliant take on Macbeth, truly floored me. It was a rare film that I immediately rewatched, mesmerized by Irrfan and the remaining cast’s breath-taking performance. After that, it didn’t matter which film Irrfan Khan starred in, I watched it. And I was never disappointed. Irrfan’s charm and grace elevated every film he was in and even if his role was just a few minutes, he made those minutes count. That is why many directors wanted to cast him. Wes Anderson wanted to work with him so he specifically wrote a small role for Irrfan Khan in THE DARJEELING LIMITED. Khan also said no to many directors due to filming conflicts in trying to balance both Indian cinema and Hollywood films. As noted by his biographer Aseem Chhabra, Khan said no to Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLER (2014) because he was filming THE LUNCHBOX at the same time. He also had to turn down Ridley Scott’s THE MARTIAN because of his work in the brilliant PIKU.
I hadn’t completely shaken off this tragic news when later on Wednesday, I learnt that Rishi Kapoor had also passed away. Another major blow. Like many in my generation, I grew up watching Rishi Kapoor movies. His father Raj Kapoor’s BOBBY ensured that Rishi Kapoor became an instant household name in Indian cinema. There was an instant likability to Rishi and he brought an amazing sense of comedic timing and wit to his roles. Often, he played a perfect foil to a bigger star and his charming honest performance lingered long in memory. As he aged, somehow Rishi Kapoor found a new gear to his acting and his later roles resulted in some spectacular performances. His performance in Habib Faisal’s DO DOONI CHAAR (2010) is hands down one of the best performances I have seen by an actor in any Indian film.
The cinematic void left by both Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor will not be filled.
On Wednesday, April 29th, news broke that the remarkable actor Irrfan Khan had passed away. It was a shock to the system. Irrfan was a rare Indian actor whose talents were well known globally and that became evident from the touching tributes that have poured in from all corners of the world, from film fans to critics, movie directors to film festivals. Different people found his work at various times. Global film festival audience first took notice of him in Asif Kapadia’s THE WARRIOR which had a long run on the film festival circuit. The 2001 film actually played at CIFF in 2005. American audience may have first noticed him in Mira Nair’s THE NAMESAKE (2006). If people had still missed seeing any of his films during the 2000s, then surely Ritesh Batra’s lovely THE LUNCHBOX (2013) ensured that they finally caught up with him.
I can’t recall which movie of his first caught my eye but I was impressed by his presence in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s HAASIL (2003). However, Khan’s acting in Vishal Bhardwaj’s MAQBOOL, a brilliant take on Macbeth, truly floored me. It was a rare film that I immediately rewatched, mesmerized by Irrfan and the remaining cast’s breath-taking performance. After that, it didn’t matter which film Irrfan Khan starred in, I watched it. And I was never disappointed. Irrfan’s charm and grace elevated every film he was in and even if his role was just a few minutes, he made those minutes count. That is why many directors wanted to cast him. Wes Anderson wanted to work with him so he specifically wrote a small role for Irrfan Khan in THE DARJEELING LIMITED. Khan also said no to many directors due to filming conflicts in trying to balance both Indian cinema and Hollywood films. As noted by his biographer Aseem Chhabra, Khan said no to Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLER (2014) because he was filming THE LUNCHBOX at the same time. He also had to turn down Ridley Scott’s THE MARTIAN because of his work in the brilliant PIKU.
I hadn’t completely shaken off this tragic news when later on Wednesday, I learnt that Rishi Kapoor had also passed away. Another major blow. Like many in my generation, I grew up watching Rishi Kapoor movies. His father Raj Kapoor’s BOBBY ensured that Rishi Kapoor became an instant household name in Indian cinema. There was an instant likability to Rishi and he brought an amazing sense of comedic timing and wit to his roles. Often, he played a perfect foil to a bigger star and his charming honest performance lingered long in memory. As he aged, somehow Rishi Kapoor found a new gear to his acting and his later roles resulted in some spectacular performances. His performance in Habib Faisal’s DO DOONI CHAAR (2010) is hands down one of the best performances I have seen by an actor in any Indian film.
The cinematic void left by both Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor will not be filled.
