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 Talent
unlimited... that's perhaps the apt way to describe the critically
acclaimed Irrfan Khan. He is the first Indian actor to receive 'the
much wanted' attention while walking the red carpet with Hollywood
celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the ongoing Cannes Film
Festival.
Having
regaled Indian audience with his powerful performances in "Maqbool",
"Yun Hota To Kya Hota" and "Metro", the actor tried to explore new
terrain with directed Michael Winterbottoms' docu-drama "A Mighty
Heart".
And he succeeded in making an impact on the cream of the
crop attending the festival with his acting, which opened to an
overwhelming response.
If Jolie, who plays Daniel's wife in the
film, got rave reviews for her performance, Irrfan's too has managed to
please all and sundry and the scribes gave him full marks for etching
out the role of the head of a Pakistani counter-terrorism unit with
perfection.
James Rocchi of cinematical.com wrote in his review
- a special praise has to go to Irrfan Khan. His character is the head
of the new Pakistani anti-terrorism unit, and he's a man torn between
the public pronouncements of support for the West's initiatives and the
labyrinthine power-struggles of his government and massive public
support for radical Islamic action. He is the face of a new kind of
power in Pakistan, and his every line, every motion has the coiled
power of a punch about to land, even in stillness.
Indeed "A Mighty Heart" is a triumph for Irrfan.
In
the past veterans like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri tried their luck in
Hollywood with "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman", "City of Joy"
and "Mistress of Spices" respectively. But none could accomplish what
Irrfan has achieved - for the first time an Indian actor is being
praised in the same breath as Hollywood stars.
However, Irrfan
is not an unfamiliar name in the global film circuit. In 2001 his "The
Warrior", a historical film made by Landon based director Asif Kapadia,
stormed in international film festivals and made people take notice of
him.
His colleagues feel that Irrfan's grounded personality is the key to his success.
"There
is a thing about Irrfan which will take him to very far in life is his
talent and his down to earth nature. No amount of success goes to his
head. He is a very grounded person," Anurag Basu, who worked with him
in "Metro", told IANS.
He has one more international project
called "Partition" in his kitty. Directed by Canadian director Vic
Sarin, the film stars Jimi Mistry and Neve Campbell.
Recently,
Irrfan won accolades for his yet another powerful performance in
US-based Indian filmmaker Mira Nair's "The Namesake", based on Jhumpa
Lahiri's best-selling novel.
Next on his wish list is to find a foothold in Bollywood masala films.
"For
me it's important to be commercially viable. The distributors should be
willing to pay for my space. I still have very limited choice... So
what's the point of being known as a good actor when you need to be
recognised as commercially saleable? I want a better deal," said Irrfan.
But at the same time he is looking forward to churn out more milestones like "Maqbool", "Warrior", "Haasil" and "Namesake".
He
said: "It's been a long journey. But I've a long way to go. I'm happy
with life. My wife is writing for Rituparno Ghosh and Bela Bhansali.
I've two kids, aged eight and three. I'm enjoying watching them grow.
No experience can match that."
By Arpana, Indo-Asian News Service
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