When Irrfan Khan, a Hollywood star, turned down DiCaprio & Spielberg to work in India

Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan breathed his last on Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. The actor passed away a day after being admitted due to a colon infection, amid his battle with Cancer. Khan's spokesperson recently confirmed the shocking news in his official statement. The official statement read:

“I trust, I have surrendered”; These were the some of the many words that Irrfan expressed in a heartfelt note he wrote in 2018 opening up about his fight with cancer. And a man of few words and an actor of silent expressions with his deep eyes and his memorable actions on screen. It’s saddening that this day, we have to bring forward the news of him passing away. Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him. After having been struck by lightning in 2018 with the news of rare cancer, he took life soon after as it came and he fought the many battles that came with it. Surrounded by his love, his family for whom he most cared about, he left for heaven abode, leaving behind truly a legacy of his own. We all pray and hope that he is at peace. And to resonate and part with his words he had said, “As if I was tasting life for the first time, the magical side of it”.

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Irrfan has had an illustrious career trajectory in the Hindi film industry and also enjoyed global fandom after starring in several Hollywood movies including Life of Pi and Jurrasic World to name a few. However, it is a lesser-known fact that Khan had turned down several films of some of the most eminent Hollywood actors in the past to work in India. Actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathway, and Christopher Nolan are some of the superstars who's films were rejected by Irrfan Khan at least once.

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Irrfan Khan turned down big banner Hollywood movies to work in India?

In an interview with a daily in 2016, Irrfan Khan spoke about turning down Hollywood projects to work in India. Khan stated that he never really felt the need for leaving India because his people were here and so were his stories. He further revealed that he might have thought of relocating to Hollywood if he had gotten interesting projects when he was young. The former actor also considered Hollywood, 'just a bonus' as he also said that small and unconventional films are redefining cinema in India and he was happy to be a part of this brave new world.

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Irrfan Khan had reportedly turned down several big-budget Hollywood films for various reasons. Khan said 'no' to a secret project of Steven Spielberg, which was anticipated to be Robopocalypse. Furthermore, he also turned down a Scarlett Johansson starrer because he felt that the character offered to him gave him no scope. Khan also refused to star in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, which grossed over $650 million at the box office, because he was expected to stay in the US for four months and he wanted to be in India for the D-Day of his film Lunchbox. The Hindi Medium actor also had to say 'no' to not one but two films of Ridley Scott because of schedule clashes. Last but not the least, Irrfan Khan also had to let go of a Leonardo DiCaprio starrer Body of Lies due to similar reasons. 

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