Graduate degree proved ‘useless’ for Irrfan Khan’s career

Actor urges people to follow interests rather than chasing ‘formula’ of completing education first

NEW DELHI: Irrfan Khan, who has always chosen to tread the unbeaten path in Hindi filmdom, believes in wholesome education, but says his own graduation degree turned out to be “useless” for his career as an actor. Some of Bollywood’s leading actors have made it big with their talent despite not having completed their education.

Khan feels it’s always good when people follow their interest. In a recent interview, he said, “If you have done your schooling and if your kids decide to go for their passion [acting], it’s their choice. You can’t force such things [further studies] on your kids. You can’t have the formula of doing graduation first and then MBA and then come to acting [or whatever their passion is].”

The Slumdog Millionaire actor cited his own example, “My mother’s only condition was to finish my graduation first and then do whatever I feel like. But for me, that is useless. It didn’t pay me at all.”

“Our kids today have become much smarter. When you ask them that ‘What do you want to do’, they say that they will decide when they are in eleventh or twelfth standard. I feel that’s good and I respect that. They want to see where their interest lies and then they think of deciding their career. That’s very good,” he added.

The actor was in the capital for P&G’s schooling initiative. During an interactive session with the children, he shared some of his childhood memories and emphasised on the importance of education for a better future. Education to him means “to broaden your mind and not to put it in a cage”.

“Children have to understand things according to their age. Sometimes education becomes a cage for many kids,” said Khan, who has two sons.

On the film front, he is geared up for his next release Piku, where he is sharing screen for the first time with megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone.

About a long and successful career in Bollywood, the National Award-winning actor said, “I don’t know what I will feel or do after five years. There is no way I can decide about the future. I take life as it comes.”

Through The Namesake, A Mighty Heart, Life of Pi and The Amazing Spider-Man, Khan has managed to make space in the west. He has also landed a role in Inferno, where he will soon share screen space with Tom Hanks.

Often, Irrfan Khan is tagged as Bollywood’s export to Hollywood. But he laughs it off, “I don’t disrespect that [tags], but neither do I take them seriously. These tags are the definitions given by my fans or media, but I go away from such definitions as I feel it limits people. The only achievement for me is when people recognise me and call my name with pride.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2015.

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