Yes, the late actor had roots from a royal family of Jaipur.
"कलाकारों का कभी अतीत नहीं होता
कभी वर्तमान नहीं होता
जब भी कोईं कलाकार जाता है,
उसका इस तरह से सम्मान नहीं होता... क्योंकि हर कोई फ़नकार इरफ़ान नहीं होता।"
Ayushmann Khurrana narrated these lines for late Irrfan, and every word of it resonated with us to the core. There was no one like Irrfan, and there will never be another like him. And while he is resting in peace now, his legacy is still there untouched and shining brightly, continuing to inspire countless individuals across the world.
Irrfan truly was the ambassador of Indian cinema on the global stage, and he was loved by one and all. He could seamlessly get into the skin of any character, and deliver performances so subtle that it never even felt like acting at all. His every gesture, expression, and body language was a masterclass of acting, pulling us completely into his world. And his eyes - well, we will run out of words to describe the power in those eyes!
"... a distinguished and charismatic star in Hindi and English-language movies whose hardworking career was an enormously valuable bridge between South Asian and Hollywood cinema," wrote writer and critic Peter Bradshaw about the late actor.
It's Irrfan's death anniversary today. In this article, we share an interesting fact about him that you didn't know.
Yes, you read it right! Irrfan had royal blood as his mother Saeda Begum hailed from the royal Tonk Hakim family of Jaipur. On the other hand, his father was a zamindar in a village in Rajasthan. He was born as Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan.
However, the legendary actor was quite embarrassed about his royal lineage, and so, dropped Sahabzade from his name. In 2017, during an appearance on the reality show, 'Son of Abish', he said, "There are too many people of royal lineage there. I was embarrassed about it since childhood. I don’t know why."
(Credit: Son Of Abish)
It is worth noting that the late actor changed the spelling of his first name from "Irfan" to "Irrfan" in 2012. Later, he dropped "Khan" from his name as he wanted his work to define him and not his lineage.
As a kid, Irrfan aspired to become a cricketer. He was quite serious about it, however, later dropped the plan and went on to become an actor.
He got his role in 'Salaam Bombay' while he was still studying at the National School of Drama, New Delhi.
He worked as an air conditioning technician before making it big as an actor. In fact, he once visited the home of Rajesh Khanna for an AC repair job.
He turned down a pivotal role in Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar' because of his prior commitment to films like 'The Lunchbox' and 'D-Day'.
At the 93rd Academy Awards, he was honored in the 'In memoriam' segment.
