Lessons from the life of Irrfan Khan

I always liked his acting but I never thought of being a real fan of Irrfan Khan. But since I watched Angrezi Medium recently, I had some strange attachment to him. So his death did affect me somewhere. It feels like someone really close has left all of us saying, "That I always wanted to go." As if this world was affecting him. I don't know but the news of his death was something I didn't want to believe, not even now.

When the world was mourning for Irrfan Khan, I thought to study him and guess what I got some interesting lessons that he shared through his words, decisions, and his acting.

Here, they are

• No matter where you come from, strong will power will lead you to places.
• Inspiration is the biggest driver to goal
• Money is the by-product of what you do.
• The success of a movie is its impact on minds
• Failure is the ladder to success
• Follow the right or wrong, not what is acceptable or unacceptable by society
• Whatever you do, do it correctly.
• Everything happens for a reason
• Always do something meaningful

Now, let us have a detailed look at how did Irrfan Khan give these lessons

• No matter where you come from, strong will power will lead you to places.

Irrfan Khan was born to a tire business owner in a village of Jaipur, Rajasthan on 7 Jan 1967 and he died at Kokilaben Hospital, Mumbai on 29 April 2020. Nobody knew him when he came to Mumbai but the day when he died, the entire world was shocked and mourned. He didn't belong to this industry. He was a newcomer but he built his image through his efforts and hard work.

• Inspiration is the biggest driver to goal

When Irrfan came to Mumbai for acting, he named the film Industry as Filmy Mandi because he found nothing at the place, no work was really fascinating and he found it quite distracting. He also mentioned in an interview that when he entered the Filmy Mandi, his struggle was to sustain his inspiration. So with his first income, he bought a VCR to watch the movies and keep himself inspired for the goal that he had been there for.

• Money is the by-product of what you do.

Post his training in Mumbai, he went for a job. It was to repair the air conditioner of Rajesh Khanna's house. When he went for the job, he realized that this is not what he is willing to do for life. He wanted to do something creative and challenging. He could not do anything repetitively. This was the moment when he said to himself, "I cannot afford to do things just for the sake of money." Thereon, he started his journey to acting.

• The success of a movie is its impact on minds

In an interview, once he was asked about the box office collection and success and failure attached to it. He exemplified saying, "Dilipkumar Saheb is thought of even today for his work, nobody remembers the number his movie collected at the box office." He clearly stated that he didn't believe in numbers. He believed in leaving an impact in the minds.

• Failure is the ladder to success

This is about his initial years. He had been for a small role where he was simply supposed to hold a gun against an actor. When the shooting began, the actor arrived and Irrfan became nervous. His hands shivered and he could not speak a word. Observing this the actor said sarcastically, "Where do you get them from?" He definitely lost that role but that one loss must have definitely impacted him to a large extent which is why he is known worldwide.

• Follow the right or wrong, not what is acceptable or unacceptable by society.

Just like any other concerned mother, Irrfan's mother was also concerned about his future. She disliked his thought of becoming an actor. She often used to ask him to come back to Jaipur and to get a regular job just like his brothers. In an interview, he also shared an instance where his mother wanted to meet the director of a movie at its premier and say, "You got my son only! Why didn't you take anyone else?" where she meant was that why didn't they take anyone else but only Irrfan and ruin his life.

Well, this instance clearly states that Irrfan was a true believer in passion. He didn't care about what all told him. He did what he liked and the rest is history.

• Whatever you do, do it correctly.

Irrfan never really spoke about his wife, his children on screen. However, there was an interview held with his wife where she was talking about his habits. She said that Irrfan was really focused in his life. And while speaking about his method acting, she said that he even dragged me to a police station out of nowhere simply to understand the correct procedure. Not only this, If she wrote a script for him, but he would also ask her to make so many changes that she had to write the script for about 5 to 6 times.

• Everything happens for a reason

I don't know how many of you know but Irrfan, in his childhood wanted to be a cricketer. He and his friend also had been into cricket in their childhood. He also was selected for the C K Nayudu Tournament under 23 but due to lack of funds, he could not turn up. Later, during his MA, he received a scholarship to the National School of Drama. This is where he learnt acting. 

This is a true instance of, whatever happens, happens for a reason. Had he not left cricket, the world wouldn't have had the great Irrfan Khan-the method actor.

• Always do something meaningful

"I want to entertain people but with substance." was his quote. He always believed in the power of content. In an interview, he said, "I want to do timepass movies also but not completely timepass, it should have something to give at least." No wonder, why he loved Dilip Kumar and Naseeruddin Shah.

With this, I would like to end up with the list of the lessons learned from The Legend Irrfan Khan.

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