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Here’s a cool throwback moment you might’ve missed: Back in 2010 when Slumdog Millionaire took the world by storm, Irrfan Khan found himself dining at the same New York restaurant as no other than Avengers star Mark Ruffalo. Irrfan, a massive fan of the Hulk actor, was secretly hoping for a quick chat, but as luck would have it, nothing happened. That was until the final moments of the night when Mark spotted him, walked over, and dropped a bomb: “Hey man, I love your work.” Instant Hollywood magic.
This epic moment comes from Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star, a biography by Aseem Chhabra. It’s one of those perfect anecdotes that perfectly captures Irrfan’s global reach—he was known everywhere, even by the biggest names in Hollywood. The scene unfolded like this: Irrfan was dining with director Aditya Bhattacharya and producer Leslie Holleran when he noticed Mark sitting nearby. The guy had just starred in The Incredible Hulk and was becoming a massive name, but Irrfan wasn’t one to fanboy. He casually pointed him out, saying he was a big fan and would love an intro. But the moment he was passed. Or so they thought.
As they were leaving, bam—Ruffalo saw him, extended a hand, and said, “I love your work.” Talk about a surprise! Aditya, who was there, said it was like a light bulb went off in Irrfan’s head. “He probably saw sparkling lights all over.”
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