Irrfan Khan passes way at 54: A glimpse of his journey from Bollywood to International stardom

After giving heart and soul to the Indian Cinema for more than two decades, Irrfan Khan bid adieu to the world today. 54-year-old Piku fame Irrfan Khan died at the KokilaBen Hospital in Mumbai, this morning. Khan, who was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, had been admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital due to Colon infection on Tuesday.

It's not only a huge loss for his family but also a great loss for Bollywood. Piku director, and close friend to Irrfan, Shoojit Sircar took his Twitter to handle to announce the news of his demise. He wrote, "My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you.. we shall meet again.. condolences to Sutapa and Babil.. you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om shanti. Irfaan Khan salute."

Irrfan might not be present amidst us anymore, but his great acting skills and legacy are immortal and will keep on inspiring the budding actors in the country. Here's a recap of Irrfan's journey to being the great actor he was:

From TV to the big screen, Irrfan's journey of success

The quintessential actor of Bollywood Irrfan started his acting journey by doing TV serial such as 'Chanakya', 'Bharat Ek Khoj', 'Sara Jahan Hamara', 'Banegi Apni Baat', 'Chandrakanta', 'Shrikant ', 'AnooGoonj', 'Star Bestsellers', and 'Sparsh'. While juggling between TV and theatre, he got his first break in Mira Nair's 'Salaam Bombay' in 1998.

Salaam Bombay becomes the entry ticket for Irrfan to Bollywood, while he was still at the National School of Drama in Delhi.

Though initially his acting was being heard, his movies were constantly failing on the box-office. It was in 2001 when Irrfan became a known face through Asif Kapadia's historical film, 'The Warrior'.

Turning point of Irrfan Bollywood career

For every great actor, there is this one movie that defines him/her and Maqbool was that for Irrfan Khan. Through is brilliant acting skills under the umbrella of Vishal Bharadwaj's direction, Irrfan went on to enthral the audience. After that Irrfan did many movies playing lead or supporting role but he received a Filmfare Best Villain Award for his role in film Haasil in 2003.

Critics highly praised Khan for his extraordinary performance and said, "as the ambitious, brash, fearless goon who is mind-blowing. He (Irrfan) is outright scary and makes you sit up, wondering what he'll do next."

How Irrfan became an International sensation

Many Bollywood actors get opportunity nowadays to work in Hollywood but sometimes they tend to lose their Indian touch. But Irrfan created havoc on the International screen when he delivered a splendid performance in the 'Life of Pi' in 2012.

After that, he went on to do many Hollywood movies such as 'Jurrasic World', 'Inferno' and many more. The actor had opened all the doors for all sorts of movie in any language.

Irrfan's first National Award

Irrfan has always amazed the audience with his conventional movies. Not only the audience, but the whole film industry believes that Irrfan is a gifted actor. He might not have won many commercial awards, Irrfan did receive Padma Shri award in 2011 and National award for best actor for the film 'Paan Singh Tomar' in 2013.

The unique romance between Irrfan and Deepika in Piku was applauded by the audience.

Irrfan Khan has time and again proved that no one can match his extraordinary acting skills. In 2017, he went on to entertain his fans through Indian Family Drama Hindi Medium, which also talked about the loopholes in our education system. His last film Angrezi Medium was released in March this year, which yet again portrayed Irrfan as a loving father, who can go to any extend for his child's dreams.

Last week, Irrfan's mother died at the age of 95 in Jaipur. It's not easy to accept that this quintessential method actor is longer amidst us. We at IBT, will pray for Irrfan's soul and hope that God gives his family the required strength to survive in a difficult situation. And as Irrfan Khan has once said,

Tumko Yaad Rakhenge Guru Hum.