Amid cancer treatment, Irrfan Khan finds new a perspective
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Irrfan Khan is a Bollywood star and Hollywood chameleon, who has bounced between the two with ease for decades, working with everyone from Mira Nair to Wes Anderson and Ang Lee and stealing scenes in both Oscar-winners (“Slumdog Millionaire”) and blockbusters (“Jurassic World”) alike. But all that’s been put on hold as he undergoes treatment in London for a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare form of cancer.
Although Khan’s life now is very different from only a few months ago, he still has films that he worked on as recently last year coming out, including “Puzzle,” a poignant character drama expanding to 11 cities this weekend.
The indie film from Oscar-nominated producer Marc Turtletaub (“Little Miss Sunshine”) is about a stifled suburban housewife, played by Kelly Macdonald, who forms a bond with a more cosmopolitan man, (Khan), over a shared fondness for puzzles. It’s one that the 51-year-old actor is immensely proud of, and eager to talk about, but, he also knows very keenly how unpredictable his life has become. When I call him for our interview, he answers politely and informs me that he’s been hospitalized the night prior and asks if might be possible to call him back in 10 minutes. This happens again, when Khan’s doctors come in to talk to him and he politely asks if we might pick it up tomorrow. Below are excerpts from our conversations.
AP: ‘Puzzle’ is quite lovely, but also a small character drama — a bit of a departure from the bigger Hollywood films you’ve become known for
KHAN: I was looking for something for a long time in American cinema, Hollywood cinema. I have been reaching for this, for a personal experience where I could invest myself and I could have more meat that I could get apart from myself completely and get into something which is unknown. This character had complexity and a strange unpredictability where he himself doesn’t know where things are moving and is in a limbo state. There are so many interesting angles to this person. I was looking for something more personal and to redefine my involvement in a story, where my soul could entangle with this story. You want residue, you want it to last. So it had all that. And the simplicity of writing was fantastic. It was a complex situation, but I love that the way it comes out of the characters’ mouths is very simple. So I fell in love it with it and I shifted my schedule in India and said, “I’m going to do it.” It worked out and I really loved it.
AP: How are you doing in general?
KHAN: I’ve seen life from a completely different angle. You sit down and you see the other side and that’s fascinating. I’m engaged on a journey.
AP: There’s been a lot of speculation in the media about your condition and you’ve made pleas on social media not to trust the reports. But what do you want people to know about what you’re going through?
KHAN: There are challenges which life throws at you. But I have started believing in the way this condition has tested me, really, really tested me in all aspects — physical, emotional and spiritual. It has put me in a rapture state. Initially I was shaken. I didn’t know. I was very, very vulnerable.