This Friday, we're flocking to the theatres to catch Irrfan make a come back to the big screen after a 2-year-long hiatus, with Angrezi Medium. Speaking about working with Irrfan, his co-star in the film, Kareena Kapoor Khan, said, "I have worked with all the Khans - Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir and Saif. But for me, it is an honour and privilege to work with Irrfan Khan. He is the pioneer, one of the finest actors among all the Khans if I may say, and he is the biggest Khan for me."

But the biggest Khan of Hindi cinema had quite a rocky start too. He missed out plenty of coveted opportunities - the most notable of all is Mira Nair's, Salaam Bombay. In this week's Tuesday Trivia, we tell you how a role in Nair's 1988-film, that could have made Irrfan, was reduced to a blink-and-you-miss cameo. And how he rose like a falcon later, The Namesake, also directed by Nair.

In 1986, when Mira Nair visited NSD (National School of Drama), her eyes were looking for trained actors who could work with street kids in her upcoming film Salaam Bombay, a film based on the lives of street kids in Mumbai. At the basement workshop of the college, she spotted Irrfan.

"I noticed his focus, his intensity, his very remarkable look - his hooded eyes. I clocked him," she said to Anees Chhabra for his book Irrfan Khan, The Man, The dreamer, The Star.

For the 20-year-old Irrfan, it was a dream come true. He jumped on the offer and flew to Mumbai to attend the film's workshop. He and actor Raghubhir Yadav stayed at a flat that Mira had rented. They, along with a few street kids, took part in workshops that were organised at the flat.

Mira thought of casting Irrfan as one of the street kids, Salim, but the actor's height and built got in the way. He couldn't fit with the actual street kids, who were malnourished. "The rest of them were undernourished, wizened little children," Mira said.

Irrfan was ahead of his batchmates when Mira picked him from NSD. He was the only one who had bagged a feature film before passing out. Irrfan's dreams, however, shattered when Mira had to uncast him just two days before the shoot of Salaam Bombay. She, instead, gave him a small role in the film, which was practically nothing.

This bitter episode in the formative years of Irrfan's career shattered him, but also prepared him for the worst. He said, "I remember sobbing all night when Mira told me that my part was reduced to merely nothing. But it changed something within me. I was prepared for anything after that."

Watch Irrfan's scene in Salaam Bombay:

Mira promised to cast Irrfan in a lead role but she fulfilled her promise only in the year 2006 with The Namesake. In the meantime, Irrfan struggled a lot. He did multiple, unfulfilling roles in television, and got his first solid role in a mainstream film in Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool (2004). He received rave reviews for his performance in the film.

Irrfan's performance in Maqbool was followed by his remarkable performance in The Namesake, which put him on the world map. The Namesake's huge success in the US (it earned $ 20 million worldwide of which $ 13.6 million were in the US alone) paved the path for other international projects like A Mighty Heart (2009), Slumdog Millionaire (2009), In Treatment (2010), the life-altering The Life Of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015), Inferno (2018) and more.

By the end, Irrfan's character dies in The Namesake and while everyone was happy with the actor's performance in the film, his mother was upset with Mira. After the screening of The Namesake, she asked Irrfan to call Mira. She said, "Bula, usko bula. Usko mera baccha hee mila tha maarne ke liye?"

Watch The Namesake trailer here:

The earthiness that Irrfan beings on screen comes from his humble upbringing. He comes from a middle-class family in Jaipur. His dad passed away before he started his career, despite which he decided to risk his hand at acting.

The acting bug bit Irrfan in his teens, even though his family didn't like him watching films. If not with parents, he would watch films in theatres with his uncle. Recalling his thoughts after watching Naya Daur (1957), Irrfan said in an interview, "There was something mysterious and fascinating in what these actors were doing."

Irrfan has never failed to fascinate us on screen. As the actor gears up for another much-promising film, Angrezi Medium, set to release this Friday, we are set to get mesmerised once again.

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