Irrfan Khan Turned Down 2 Hollywood Movies (Photo Credit – Wikipedia/Instagram)
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Not many Indian actors get the chance to work with big-shot Hollywood filmmakers in massively mounted movies. On the contrary, late actor Irrfan Khan, known for his nuanced performances across the globe, was not only offered two films helmed by veteran director Ridley Scott, but he also turned down both of them. Scroll down to know the names of these films and why the actor rejected them.
Body of Lies (Release Year – 2008)
The first Ridley Scott movie that Irrfan Khan turned down was the action thriller ‘Body of Lies’. Had Irrfan Khan been in the film, he would have shared screen space with two seasoned Hollywood actors, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio. As per a report published in Times of India, the ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ actor reportedly turned it down because it simply didn’t work out. The role was eventually essayed by Mark Strong.
The underlying plot of Body of Lies follows a CIA operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) stationed in the Middle East and how he tries to capture an elusive terrorist with the help of his boss (Russell Crowe). The film didn’t go well with the critics, and it holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 55%. However, the film’s IMDb user rating is 7/10, which is quite good.
The second Ridley Scott film that Irrfan Khan was offered was a science fiction movie, The Martian, starring Matt Damon in the lead role. As per Mumbai Mirror, it was supposed to be a lengthy and pivotal role in the film. But since Irrfan Khan had already committed to shooting for Shoojit Sircar’s slice-of-life comedy-drama, Piku, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, he had to reject this super tempting offer as well. In the final film, the character was purportedly played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
The basic storyline of The Martian revolves around the efforts and struggles of an astronaut (played by Matt Damon) to survive on planet Mars after he is presumed dead and left behind after a powerful storm. The film found favour with the critics and got a brilliant Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% and a fantastic IMDb user rating of 8/10.
Hollywood Films Starring Irrfan Khan
Although Irrfan Khan had to turn down some enticing Hollywood offers, including Body of Lies and The Martian, he did star in several others. He was a part of A Mighty Heart co-starring Angelina Jolie, Wes Anderson’s comedy drama The Darjeeling Limited, Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, The Amazing Spider-Man, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, Jurassic World, and Ron Howard’s Inferno starring Tom Hanks, among others.
