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Irrfan Khan Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

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Death Date: 29/04/2020
Wife: Sutapa Sikdar
Age: 53 Years

Irrfan Khan

Bio/Wiki
Full NameSahabzade Irfan Ali Khan [1]The Hindu
Profession(s)Actor, Producer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 183 cm
in meters- 1.83 m
in feet inches- 6’
Eye ColourDark Brown
Hair ColourBlack
Career
DebutFilm (Hindi): Salaam Bombay (1988) as a 'Letter Writer'
Salaam Bombay
Film (British): The Warrior (2001) as 'Lafcadia'
The Warrior
Film (Hollywood): A Mighty Heart (2007) as 'Javid Habib'
A Mighty Heart
TV (Actor): Shrikant (1985) as 'Abhaya's husband'
Irrfan Khan in his debut television serial Shrikant (1985)
Last FilmAngrezi Medium (2020) as "Champak Bansal"
Irrfan Khan in Angrezi Medium (2020)
Awards, HonoursNational Film Award
2013: Best Actor for Paan Singh Tomar
Irrfan Khan Receiving The National Film Award for Best Actor from Pranab Mukherji

Filmfare Awards
2004: Best Actor in a Negative Role for Haasil
2008: Best Supporting Actor for Life in a... Metro
2013: Best Actor (Critics) for Paan Singh Tomar
2018: Best Actor for Hindi Medium

Government of India Awards
2011: Honoured with Padma Shri by the Government of India
Irrfan Khan Receiving Padma Shri From Pratibha Patil

Other Awards
2004: Screen Awards for Best Performance in a Negative Role for Haasil
2012: CNN-IBN Indian of the Year
2013: Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences awarded him as Best Male Character for Paan Singh Tomar

Note: Along with these, he has many other awards, honours, and achievements to his name.
Personal Life
Date of Birth7 January 1967 (Saturday)
BirthplaceJaipur, Rajasthan, India
Date of Death29 April 2020 (Wednesday)
Place of DeathKokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai
Death CauseColon Infection [2]Hindustan Times

Note: In 2018, he announced that he’d been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour.
Age (at the time of death)53 Years
BirthplaceJaipur, Rajasthan, India
Zodiac signCapricorn
SignatureIrrfan Khan Signature
NationalityIndian
HometownKhajuriya Village, Tonk District, Rajasthan, India
College/UniversityNational School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi
Educational QualificationDiploma in Dramatic Arts from NSD [3]irrfan.com
ReligionIslam
Caste/EthnicityPathan
Food HabitVegetarian [4]Deccan Chronicle
Address5th floor of an apartment in Oshiwara, Mumbai
Irrfan Khan house in Mumbai
HobbiesReading, Playing Cricket
ControversyControversial remark on the ‘qurbani’ ritual

In July 2016, he attracted controversy over his remarks on the ‘qurbani’ ritual on Eid-al-Adha. He remarked while he was promoting his film Madaari in Jaipur. He said,

"Jitne rituals hain, jitney festivals hain, hum unka asal matlab bhool gaye hain. Hamne unko ek tamasha bana diya he. (We have forgotten the real meaning behind rituals and festivals and have turned them into a spectacle). Qurbani ek bahut ahem festival hai… it means to sacrifice. A goat was then a prime source of food, and there were many who went hungry. So you had to, in a way, sacrifice something dear to you and distribute it to people."

His comments were criticized by the Muslim clerics. Irrfan later replied on Twitter (now X). He wrote,

"Pls Bhaiyon, who r upset with my statement, either u r not ready to introspect or u r in a hurry to reach to a conclusion."
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital StatusMarried
Affairs/GirlfriendsSutapa Sikdar (dialogue writer)
Marriage Date23 February 1995
Family
Wife/SpouseSutapa Sikdar (dialogue writer, m. 1995-till his death)
Irrfan Khan with his wife and children
ChildrenSons- Ayaan Khan, Babil Khan
Daughter- None
ParentsFather- Sahabzada Yaseen Ali Khan (entreprenuer)
Mother- Sayeeda Begum
A Childhood Photo of Irrfan Khan With His Parents and Siblings
SiblingsBrothers- Salman Khan, Imran Khan
Sister- Rukhsana Begum
A Childhood Photo of Irrfan Khan With His Siblings
Favourites
Actor(s)Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando
FilmThe Men (1950)
RestaurantGrand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat in France
ColourBlack
SportCricket
Style Quotient
Car CollectionSUV
Irrfan Khan SUV
Money Factor
Salary (approx.)Rs. 12-14 Crore/film
Net Worth (approx.)Rs. 344 Crores ($50 million) (as of 2018)

Irrfan Khan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Irrfan Khan

  • Irrfan belonged to a family with royal connections from his mother’s side, and his father was a wealthy Zamindar who wanted him to join their family business of tires.
  • In his school, he was a very shy person, and his teachers would often scold him because his voice was never audible in class.
  • He faced a lot of struggles in his teenage, and he even worked as a repairer of air conditioners and also as a tutor to earn his living.
  • He aspired to become a cricketer. He was selected for a tournament named CK Nayudu tournament, which is for players under 23 years old, but due to lack of funds, he missed the opportunity.

    Irrfan Khan Playing Cricket

    Irrfan Khan Playing Cricket

  • While pursuing an MA in Jaipur, he was offered a scholarship to attend NSD (National School of Drama), and he entered the world of drama.
  • In his final year at NSD, Mira Nair selected him for a role in Salaam Bombay. However, his role was cut down at the time of its release.

    Irrfan Khan in Salaam Bombay

    Irrfan Khan in Salaam Bombay

  • In the initial days of his stay in Mumbai, he shared a flat with Raghubir Yadav.
  • He had a remarkable stint on the small screen, and he appeared in many popular television shows, such as Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), Chanakya (1991), Banegi Apni Baat (1993), AnooGoonj (1993), Sara Jahan Hamara (1994), Chandrakanta (1994), Star Bestsellers (1995), and Sparsh (1998). Irrfan Khan in Chandrakanta
  • He appeared in some unnoticed films during the 90s, but things changed when he got the opportunity to play a role in the British-Indian film ‘The Warrior.’
  • He rose to fame with his negative role in Tigmanshu Dhulia‘s film Haasil in 2003.

  • In 2005, he got his first lead role in the film “Rog” after many of his films got shelved. Irrfan Khan in Rog
  • He met his future wife Sutapa Sikdar at NSD where they used to study in the same class. She belongs to a Hindu Brahmin family.
  • Irrfan changed the name of his spelling from “Irfan” to “Irrfan” in 2012, but there was no numerology behind this, he just liked the sound of extra “r” in his name.
  • He had a dream of gifting her mother a suitcase full of money one day.
  • His acting in the film “Paan Singh Tomar” (based on the life of Paan Singh Tomar) was critically acclaimed both by the audience and critics, and he also got many accolades for the film, including the National Film Award for Best Actor.
  • His acting in the film “Lunch Box” was also critically acclaimed, and it became the only Indian movie to get a TFCA Award (Toronto Film Critics Association).
  • For his commitment to the films Lunch Box and D-Day, he turned down a big role in the film Interstellar as he had to leave India and stay in the USA for four months.
  • He once said that in 1993, he didn’t have enough money to watch Jurassic Park, but in 2015, he appeared in the American film Jurassic World.
  • Apart from acting, he also voiced two video games titled “Lego Jurassic World” and “Lego Dimensions.”
  • In September 2015, the Rajasthan government named him the brand ambassador for the “Resurgent Rajasthan” campaign.

    Irrfan Khan as the face of Resurgent Rajasthan campaign

    Irrfan Khan as the face of the Resurgent Rajasthan campaign

  • Just because his name resembled a terror suspect, he was detained twice at Los Angeles Airport.
  • He was very selective when it came to scripts, and he used to do good research on his role. His writer-wife once said that she had to rewrite the script of some of the episodes of “Banegi Apni Baat” a dozen times because Irrfan wasn’t satisfied with it.
  • Despite being born in a Pathan family, he hated Non-Vegetarian food, and his father often used to say that he was a Brahmin born in Pathans. In an interview, Irrfan said,

    My family would tell me, Brahmin paida hua Pathano ke ghar mein.” [5]Deccan Chronicle

  • Irrfan had deep compassion for animals. In an interview, he recalled his experience of accompanying his father to hunting. He said,

    Dad always used to take us along when he went hunting. For us, it was adventurous; but when I went with my sister or my little brother, it was a bit traumatic because even though we enjoyed the mystery of the jungle and being in a new environment, when a wild animal was ultimately killed, we used to imagine what would happen to the animal’s family or its mother. We used to create an emotional connect with the animal. I learnt how to use the rifle, but I never hunted with it. I also strangely, did not eat non-vegetarian food; maybe I didn’t enjoy the taste.” [6]Deccan Chronicle

    Irrfan Khan Playing With a Dog

    Irrfan Khan Playing With a Dog

  • He was the first Bollywood actor to have acted in two films that won the Academy Awards – Slumdog Millionaire (2008), and Life of Pi (2012). However, the first choice for his role in Slumdog Millionaire was Gulshan Grover.

    Irrfan Khan in Slumdog Millionaire

    Irrfan Khan in Slumdog Millionaire

  • For the film “Piku,” he rejected Ridley Scott’s film The Martian.

Image result for irrfan in piku gif

  • Reportedly, Irrfan just took two hours to read the script of Blackmail and agreed to do it. It was also reported later that he was diagnosed with a tumour at the time of the shoot of this film.

    Irrfan Khan In Blackmail

    Irrfan Khan In Blackmail

  • On 16 March 2018, he revealed that he was suffering from a rare disease called “NeuroEndocrine Tumour,” a situation in which the neuroendocrine cells grow into tumours. Irrfan Khan disease revealed on Twitter
  • He once shared a one-rupee Indian currency note; bearing his date of birth on it.

    Irrfan Khan and the Ten Ruppe Note with his Date of Birth on it

    Irrfan Khan and the Ten Ruppe Note with his Date of Birth on it

  • Irrfan Khan was often spotted smoking cigarettes and consuming alcoholic beverages on various occasions. In an interview, he talked about his drinking habit  and said,

    Drinking’s not a gentleman’s game for me – you know two pegs every evening. If I start drinking, I drink till I drop dead. So generally, I don’t drink, because the next day I don’t like my body, I hate myself. When I was younger, I could keep drinking all night and it wouldn’t hit me that hard.” [7]GQ Irrfan Khan smoking

  • His death on 29 April 2020 was mourned across the nation, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many Bollywood celebs.

    Tigmanshu Dhulia Leading The Final Rites of Irrfan Khan

    Tigmanshu Dhulia leading the final rites of Irrfan Khan

  • Irrfan Khan had very expressive eyes, and a film critic once praised his eyes and said,

    Irfaan’s eyes speak louder than his words.”