Did you know Irrfan Khan played the antagonist in the Mahesh Babu starrer 'Sainikudu'?

Irrfan Khan, one of the most celebrated and popular names in Indian cinema, passed away on Wednesday and this left countless movie buffs heartbroken. A self-made star, he found a foothold in Bollywood with well-received movies like Maqbool, Haasil and Paan Singh Tomar and proved his mettle. The ‘coolest guy in the room’ also made an impact in Hollywood and proved that language was not a barrier for him. Some of his most notable international flicks include The Amazing Spider-Man, Jurassic World and the Tom Hanks starrer Inferno.

While almost everyone is familiar with his work in Hindi cinema and Hollywood, not many know that he played the antagonist in the Telugu movie Sainikudu (2006) that featured Mahesh Babu in the lead. The film, directed by Gunasekhar, was a politically-charged actioner that saw him play the role of a goon with nefarious intentions and give Tollywood a taste of his abilities.

Sainikudu received decent reviews from the target audience and clicked with ‘Prince’ fans. It, however, did not do too well at the box office, Post this, Irrfan decided to consolidate his career in Hindi cinema and refrained from doing Telugu movies.

Coming to the present, Irrfan’s death has robbed the film world of one of its finest talents. Several Bollywood actors, right from Akshay Kumar to Taapsee Pannu, have mourned his demise and this proves that the Rajasthan native touched many hearts with his lively personality and impressive body of work.

Also read: RIP Irrfan Khan: 5 memorable movies that prove he was a class apart

The well-received Angrezi Medium was his last release and saw him share screen space with Kareena Kapoor Khan. The film opened to a decent response at the box office but its run was cut short by the COVID-19 outbreak. It was released on Hotstar recently and received good reviews from a section of the audience.