Background
Irrfan Khan was born in Jaipur, to a Muslim family. Khan's mother, Begum, was from the Tonk Hakim family, and his father, the late Jagirdar, was from the Khajuriya village near the Tonk district, and ran a tyre business.
Irrfan Khan was born in Jaipur, to a Muslim family. Khan's mother, Begum, was from the Tonk Hakim family, and his father, the late Jagirdar, was from the Khajuriya village near the Tonk district, and ran a tyre business.
Khan was studying for his MA degree, when he earned a scholarship to study at the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi in 1984.
Irrfan Khan moved to Mumbai, where he acted in numerous television serials like "Chanakya", "Bharat Ek Khoj", "Sara Jahan Hamara", "Banegi Apni Baat", "Chandrakanta (Doordarshan)", "AnooGoonj" on Doordarshan" Star Bestsellers (Star Plus), and "Sparsh". Much before these, he had acted in a teleplay on Doordarshan named "Laal Ghaas Par Neele Ghode" where he played Lenin. It was based on a translation by Uday Prakash of a Russian play by Mikhail Shatrov. He also played the role of famous revolutionary Urdu poet and Marxist political activist of India Makhdoom Mohiuddin in Kahkashan produced by Ali Sardar Jafri.
He acted in some of the episodes of Star Bestsellers (aired on Star-Plus). In one of the episodes (Ek Sham Ki Mulakat), his role was of a parchoon shopkeeper.He played the role of an office-accountant who, after being insulted by his female boss, took revenge. He also appeared in a serial called Bhanvar (aired on SET India) for two episodes. In one episode, he performed the role of a thug who somehow lands in court. Theatre and television kept him afloat until Mira Nair offered him a cameo in Salaam Bombay (1988) though his role was edited out in the final film.
In the 1990s he appeared in the critically acclaimed film "Ek Doctor Ki Maut" and "Such a Long Journey" (1998) and various other films which went unnoticed.
After many unsuccessful films, things changed when London-based director Asif Kapadia gave him the lead in "The Warrior", a historical film completed in 11 weeks on location in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. In 2001 The Warrior opened in international film festivals, making Irrfan Khan a known face.
In 2003–04 he acted in Indian born writer-director, Ashvin Kumar's short film, "Road to Ladakh". After the film received rave reviews at international festivals, the film is now being made into a full length feature, again starring Irrfan Khan. That same year he played the title role in the critically acclaimed "Maqbool", an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.
His first Bollywood main lead role came in 2005 with film "Rog" in which his performance was praised by critics.
Thereafter he appeared in several films either playing the leading role or a supporting role as a villain.
In 2007, he appeared in the box office hits "Metro", for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award, and "The Namesake". His chemistry with Konkana Sen in Metro was one of the highlights of the Multi-star movie. They were closely followed by his appearance in the international films "A Mighty Heart" and "The Darjeeling Limited".
In 2008, he was featured as a narrator in an Arts Alliance production, id – Identity of the Soul. The performance toured worldwide, with tens of thousands turning out to see the event as it toured the West Bank. He also plays the police inspector in the 2008 film "Slumdog Millionaire", for which he and the cast of the movie won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
In 2009, he featured in the film "Acid Factory". Khan has stated that he wants to do more and more action films in the future. He also appeared as an FBI agent in "New York" and as a Gujarati diamond merchant in "New York, I Love You". His latest film "Paan Singh Tomar" in which essays the role of real-life Rajput runner Paan Singh Tomar has received extremely favourable reviews by critics. Irrfan has been highly praised.
He recently worked on the third season of the HBO series In Treatment, enacting the part of Sunil, who is finding it difficult to come to terms with his wife's death and loneliness after moving to New York, USA. In addition, Irrfan signed a contract to be in the new Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham remake in December 2011.
Khan played Dr. Rajit Ratha in "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 2012.
Salaam Bombay
Kamla Ki Maut
Jazeere
Drishti
Ek Doctor Ki Maut
Karamati Coat
Bada Din
The Goal
The Warrior
Kasoor
Pratha
Kali Salwaar
Gunaah
Haasil
Footpath
Maqbool
Shadows of Time
Aan: Men at Work
Charas: A Joint Operation
Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets
Rog
Chehraa
Yun Hota To Kya Hota
The Killer
Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante
Sainikudu
A Mighty Heart
Life in a Metro
The Namesake
The Darjeeling Limited
Aaja Nachle
Partition
Road to Ladakh
Tulsi
Sunday
Krazzy 4
Mumbai Meri Jaan
Slumdog Millionaire
Chamku
Dil Kabaddi
Acid Factory
Billu
New York
New York, I Love You
Right Yaaa Wrong
Hisss
Knock Out
Yeh Saali Zindagi
7 Khoon Maaf
Thank You
Paan Singh Tomar
The Amazing Spider-Man
Banker to the Poor
Life of Pi