Before the global acclaim, before Piku and The Lunchbox , before he taught us how to hold a gun with weary wisdom or how to look at a plate of food with the ache of a lifetime, there was a young man in a purple turban. His name was Irrfan Khan, and he played a small role in a big, gaudy fantasy show called Chandrakanta .
But the secret is this: even then, he wasn’t in the background. irrfan khan in chandrakanta
It’s almost jarring to go back and watch it now. The show is a riot of primary colours, tinsel, and theatrical villainy—a world of tillism and jaadugars , where crocodiles lurk in moats and every evil uncle has a cackle that could peel paint. In this fever dream, Irrfan plays a courtier. A henchman. A man in the background. Before the global acclaim, before Piku and The