Irrfan Khan turned down Leonardo DiCaprio and other Hollywood stars to 'stay in India'

Bollywood actor extraordinaire Irrfan Khan, who passed away Wednesday, was recognized across the globe for his acting prowess.

The icon, who breathed his last at 53, was known as the face of Indian cinema in the West, courtesy of the Hollywood hits under his belt, including Life of Pi, Jurassic World and Slumdog Millionaire.

And despite his roaring success in Hollywood, the legendary star had kept Indian cinema his main focus.

During one of his earlier interviews with Hindustan Times, he had stated: “I keep getting interesting offers. If I were younger, I might have thought of relocating to Hollywood. But I never really felt like leaving India. My people are here and so are my stories. Today, small and unconventional films are redefining cinema in India. And I am happy to be part of this brave, new world. Hollywood is just a bonus.”

The publication also claims that the late actor had rejected roles alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Christopher Nolan, Matthew McConaughey and Ridley Scott.

Khan even said no to Hollywood’s acclaimed director Steven Spielberg just recently, where he was supposed to share screens with Scarlett Johansson.

“I didn’t feel the character offered to me gave me much scope. So I said ‘No’; though Scarlett Johansson is an actor I would have loved to share screen space with,” he told NDTV.

He had also given up a role on the widely-acclaimed film Interstellar which ended up garnering $650 million worldwide.

“They expected a huge commitment from my end. I had to stay in the US for four months at a stretch. I tried to work out my schedule and suggested if I could shuttle between India and the US as it wouldn’t have been possible for me to be there for that long. I wanted to be here for The Lunchbox and D-Day. They couldn’t allow that. I don’t have a tendency to regret what I do, but knowing it’s a Christopher Nolan film, I can say that this has been one of the most difficult decisions I’ve made,” he said during an interview with Times of India.

He also turned down a role with Ridley Scott twice, owing to scheduling issues.

“I was hoping to do The Martian and Piku but the schedule did not permit. I hope to work with Ridley Scott again. It was a second miss as I was earlier supposed to work with him in Body of Lies but that also did not work out,” he told India Today. 

Khan was admitted to Mumbai hospital on Tuesday after his health deteriorated, died on Wednesday at the age of 53, reported Indian media.

Irrfan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor in 2018 and had been undergoing treatment in Britain.

He returned to India after recovering and wrapped filming on Angrezi Medium film. He shot the movie immediately after his round of cancer treatment ended, and had kept up a relatively low profile since his diagnosis was announced.