Irrfan Khan, Bollywood Actor Who Made a Hollywood Mark, Dies at 53 – The New York Times

Irrfan Khan, an Indian film star who brought a modern sensibility to recent hit movies and was featured in several Hollywood films such as “Life of Pi” and “The Namesake,” died on Wednesday. He was 53.

Mr. Khan’s death, after a prolonged battle with cancer, was confirmed by a spokesman for the actor in a brief statement.

Mr. Khan was among the first Indian actors to make a consistent mark in Western cinema, after earlier crossover pioneers like Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth and Om Puri.

In a 2015 New York Times review of the movie “Talvar,” Rachel Saltz wrote: “Mr. Khan is this movie’s best weapon. Playing a familiar character type, the world-weary detective, he gives a performance, full of small, sly details, that doesn’t seem familiar at all.”