Did you know Irrfan Khan once worked as an AC repairman? Check these lesser-known facts about late legend!

When Irrfan was young, he was passionate about cricket as told by his childhood friend Bharat Bhatnagar.

Talking to the Indian Express, Bharat had recalled in an interview, "We were both pace bowlers but he was tall and that helped him generate bounce off the pitch. At that time we had only two clubs in Jaipur that had mat wickets. I remember he would often trouble the batsmen with his bounce."

“However, his mother was very strict and wanted him to focus on his studies," he added.

(Pic Credit: Instagram)

During a conversation with a leading daily, Irrfan Khan revealed that he had come to Mumbai, the city of dreams, through air conditioning training.

He had recalled, "I was doing some training in a technical course in Jaipur and I came to Bombay through this training of air conditioning."

Khan further said that he had visited late actor Rajesh Khanna's home as a repairman. He recalled, "I still remember the way bai opened the door she said 'kaun?' I said 'AC wala' and she replied 'Aaiye'."

Irrfan Khan's maternal uncle Dr Sajid Nissar was the reason the actor took a liking towards acting. His uncle was a theatre artist and introduced the late actor to the art. 

In a conversation with New Indian Express, his uncle recalled Irrfan's reaction when the latter saw his first theatre performance. 

He said, "Irrfan used to be very shy when he used to come as a child to Jodhpur. I still remember that he saw his first theatre performance at the Jodhpur Town Hall and for days he kept asking me – When you go on stage in front of hundreds of people, don’t you get nervous? How do you hide your nerves on the stage."

Although Irrfan made his Bollywood debut in Salaam Bombay! in 1988, he only bagged his first Bollywood lead role came in 2005 with 'Rog'. He had endured years of struggle in the early years of his career.

Irrfan Khan, throughout his illustrious career, has been honoured with many awards. He has won a National Film Award, Asian Film Award, a Padma Shri, 6 Filmfare Awards. Last year, he was posthumously awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.