Bollywood’s legendary actor Irrfan Khan made his mark in not just the Indian cinema but received acclaim in Hollywood as well.
An incident mentioned in Aseem Chhabra’s book Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star showed how widely the actor was loved in Hollywood as he left some of the biggest names star struck as well.
In the book, an anecdote from Irrfan’s 2010 meeting with Mark Ruffalo was narrated with him and Indian director-screenwriter Aditya Bhattacharya having brunch at a restaurant in New York City where the Hulk actor was also present with a large group of people.
“Suddenly Irrfan elbowed Aditya. He had noticed that actor Mark Ruffalo was sitting on the next table. But he was there with a large group of people, perhaps his family. Irrfan told Aditya that he was a big fan of Mark and somehow wanted an introduction. ‘I asked Leslie if she knew him, and she said she did, but she didn’t feel like walking up to Mark,’ Aditya says. ‘She said it didn’t look right. But I could also see Irrfan thinking, ‘Hello toh bolte hain’ (Let’s at least say hello),” the book reads.
“When we were leaving, Irrfan looked disappointed, but then something incredible happened,’ Aditya adds. ‘Mark saw him, put his hand forward and said, ‘Hey man, I love your work’. And Irrfan probably saw sparkling lights all over’,” the book quotes Aditya as saying.
