The passing of Irrfan Khan has hit every cinema lover personally. He was not just a wonderful actor, but also an exceptional human being who fawned over his country and never stopped expressing the love he had for Indian cinema.
Irrfan in various interviews admitted that he was offered a lot of films in Hollywood. And though he did quite a few of them like Life Of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire, there are others he let go of because of his commitments back home.
He said Hollywood was simply a bonus and his heart was in the films that were redefining Indian cinema.
I keep getting interesting offers. If I were younger, I might have thought of relocating to Hollywood. But I never really felt like leaving India. My people are here and so are my stories. Today, small and unconventional films are redefining cinema in India. And I am happy to be part of this brave, new world. Hollywood is just a bonus.
-Irrfan Khan to Hindustan Times
The actor was asked to be a part of a Steven Spielberg film in 2013, rumoured to be Robopocalypse. However, Irrfan turned down the offer as it didn’t give him enough scope. Eventually Steve Spielberg dropped the film as well.
I didn’t feel the character offered to me gave me much scope. So I said ‘No’; though Scarlett Johansson is an actor I would have loved to share screen space with.
-Irrfan Khan to NDTV
He was also asked to be a part of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar which he turned down because he didn’t want to let go of The Lunchbox and D-Day, two Hindi films he had already made a commitment to. Rumours suggest he was offered the role of Matt Damon or David Gyasi in the film.
They expected a huge commitment from my end. I had to stay in the US for four months at a stretch. I tried to work out my schedule and suggested if I could shuttle between India and the US as it wouldn’t have been possible for me to be there for that long. I wanted to be here for The Lunchbox and D-Day. They couldn’t allow that. I don’t have a tendency to regret what I do, but knowing it’s a Christopher Nolan film, I can say that this has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made.
-Irrfan Khan to TOI
Irrfan was also offered a role in The Martian but instead chose to give his time to Piku since his schedule didn’t permit him to work on both the films at the same time.
I had committed my dates to Shoojit Sircar’s film, and no regrets about that. Piku is an important film in my career.
-Irrfan Khan to Bollywood Hungama
His commitment towards Indian cinema has always come first and for that, we are so grateful because we got a chance to watch him bring some wonderful characters to life.