Top 8 Best Movies of Irfan Khan

Intriguing Indian cinema has captivated audiences throughout the world, and it never ceases to amaze the audience. In this article, we have the pleasure of discussing a legend named Irrfan Khan, a natural actor and a born legend. Irrfan is no longer alive, but his legendary work will certainly live a thousand lives. His work is not only mesmerizing and commendable for Bollywood, but also for Tollywood, Hollywood, and countless other theatres around the world. This article will take you on a mesmerizing journey through the top 8 best movies of Irfan Khan.

Life of Pi

Year: 2012

Duration: 2h 7h

Language: English, Hindi

Director: Ang Lee

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Suraj Sharma, Gautam Belur, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Shravanthi Sainath.

IMDB rating: 7.9

Those of us who actually live our lives can relate to the story of Life of Pi. When we get out of bed and leave our homes, it feels like there is a scary world outside. The best way to live and lead a life is to overcome our fears, and after conquering our fears, survival becomes easier. A story of survival in the Pacific Ocean in which Pi lost everything, his family, his wealth while moving with his family with their zoo animals to Canada.

In the midst of a storm, their ship sank, but Young Pi managed to get out on a lifeboat with a Zebra, a Hyena, and a Bengal Tiger. Young Pi was initially scared to death, but he learned the tricks to sail to this life and survived, even with limited resources. The work of Irrfan is great here, he narrates this entire story as an adult Pi Patel.  One of the spectacular movies of Irfan Khan.

Madaari

Year: 2016

Duration: 2h 13m

Language: Hindi, English

Director: Nishikant Kamat

Cast:  Irrfan Khan, Jimmy Shergill, Vishesh Bansal, Nitesh Pandey, Tushar Dalvi.

IMDB rating: 7.6

This indeed is a brilliant story where the title of the movie is the gist. The main character Nirmal was the Madaari not literally but metaphorically, he was acting like a puppeteer (Madaari) and trying to take revenge on the government when he lost his son due to the negligence of the government. He kidnaps the 10-year son of the home minister and forces the entire government to meet his demands. The work of Irrfan here is unmatched, he put his heart and soul out as a kidnapper. Khan's big beautiful eyes bring out a deeper sense of connection as a father who lost his son and was grieving but wasn't yet ready to give up. Truly one of the renowned movies of Irfan Khan.

Paan Singh Tomar

Year: 2012

Duration: 2h 15m

Language: Hindi, English

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Mahie Gill, Rajendra Gupta, Brijendra Kala.

IMDB rating: 8.2

Paan Singh Tomar is a biographical film about an Indian soldier. He was a 7-time national steeplechase champion who later became the most dangerous decoit. After his retirement in Chambal Valley, Paan was forced by an unexpected event to choose such a path of violence even after his brilliant work for the nation. The work of Irrfan here is precious. He portrayed the anger, rage, revenge, and longing that comes with this role. The work of Irrfan proves that he was a man with multi-talented and had the ability to play versatile roles.  Considered as one of the splendid movies of Irfan Khan.

Qarib Qarib Singlle 

Year: 2017

Duration: 2h 5m

Language: Hindi

Director: Tanuja Chandra

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Parvathy Thiruvothu,Brijendra Kala, Neha Dhupia, Puchtiie.

IMDB rating: 7.1

A slow romance runs throughout this romantic comedy, with the two main characters Yogi and Jaya meeting through a dating app. They embark on a journey to the past where Yogi asks her to meet his ex-girlfriends as he seeks closure. They traveled back to his place, Rishikesh, and the story had many twists and turns. Yogi missed his flight, and he boarded the wrong train, creating generic humor along the way. The work of Irfan here is elegantly crafted where he is a poet and his big beautiful eyes bring poetry to life.

The Song of the Scorpions

Year: 2017 (Locarno released date), 2023 (Indian released date)

Duration: 1h 59m

Language: Hindi, English, French

Director: Anup Singh

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Wahida Rehman, Golshifteh Farahani, Shashank Arora

IMDB rating: 6.1

In spite of the fact that this movie was shot in late 2015, was screened at the 70th Locarno Film Festival, in Switzerland, and got international attention, it was only released in India in 2023. Three years after the death of Irrfan Khan, Irrfan plays Aadam, a camel trader who falls in love with Nooran, a tribal Rajasthani woman learning an ancient art of healing. Performing this art involves interpreting the scorpion's song in the victim's pulse and singing a counter-song. Throughout the movie, Irfan shows himself to be a classic romantic, a lover who loves his Nooran with all his heart.

Maqbool

Year: 2003

Duration: 2h 12 m

Language: Hindi

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri

IMDB rating: 8

How often does it happen that all great legends come together? But this one is such an amazingly cast movie. The story revolves around Abba ji, Maqbool, and Nimmi. Abba ji is the underworld Don the king of crimes, whereas Nimmi is Abba ji's mistress and secretly in love with  Maqbool.  Maqbool is the loyal, right-hand hetcher man of Abba ji, but is torn between love and loyalty. This is indeed a twisted plot for a story. The Maqbool character is very well played by Irfan, and Irfan's work is quite unmatched in this story.  

The Lunchbox

Year: 2013

Duration: 1h 44m

Language: Hindi

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nakul Vaid

IMDB rating: 7.8

There is such an elegant plot in this movie that shows how Mumbai has a brilliant dabba system. Saajan is an elderly widow who works in the accounts department and will soon be retired. In this story, his lunch box was accidentally exchanged with Rajeev's lunch boxes, who work in a completely different office. Rameev's wife IIa, a young abandoned housewife who still cooks with delicacy, thinks that her husband would enjoy the lunch. But when she found out that the lunch box was exchanged, she started writing to Irfan through small chits.

They talked about the weather, traffic, and visiting Bhutan. After some time they decide to meet at a restaurant. But Irfan had not enough courage to meet a young lady like her in person. The ending is the most delicate of all. It's an open ending, the viewer can make their opinions with their perspectives and are allowed to think in any way. 

Hindi Medium

Year: 2017

Duration: 2h 12m

Language: Hindi, English

Director: Saket Chaudhary

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Saba Qamar, Deepak Dobrial,Tilotama Shome, Neha Dhupia

IMDB rating: 7.8

Using social issues as its backdrop, this movie illustrates the true nature of our society. A story about a young couple Raj and Mita who have no education, but are willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure their daughter Pia attends a reputable English medium school. As a family movie that creates light humor, the work of Irfan portrays the struggles of a common man. His work here is outstanding, while Saba, a Pakistani actress, is well suited to play such a character.