Five times Irrfan Khan surprised us

#1. By behaving like a superstar in the AIB video:

From expecting his visitors to buy into his assistant referring to Christopher Nolan as Christie to saying The Lunchbox won an Oscar, Irrfan is pitch perfect as a superstar who's got swag. The best party song ever is spot on in its dance steps, gold jacket, and bikini-clad women. Reminds us of his memorably titled "Pyaar Do, Pyaar Lo" item song in Thank You, which he refuses to be embarrassed by.

#2. By romancing Deepika Padukone in Piku:

Nimrat Kaur, his co star in The Lunchbox, says the Americans love Irrfan's expressive eyes, which they first discovered when he didn't utter a word in Asif Kapadia's The Warrior in 2001. Well, they were in full expressive mode with Deepika Padukone in Piku. As he drove her to Kolkata, defended her to her father, fixed her home's water pump, and played badminton, they looked like a match made in Bollywood heaven, without a song full of backup dancers, five costume changes, and liberal use of glycerine.

#3. By rocking a sharp suit in Jurassic World:

Hollywood blockbusters don't usually make the best use of Irrfan's subtle skills - anyone remember his Rajat Ratha in The Amazing Spiderman? But Irrfan was perfect as Simon Masrani, billionaire developer with a penchant for sharp suits, helicopters, and urging co stars to chill.

#4. By playing Gogol's father in The Namesake:

He did it so well that Bengalis were convinced he was one of them. In Mira Nair's gorgeous film, Irrfan's Ashoke Ganguly was both sad and hopeful, a typical early immigrant to one of America's many student towns, immersed in his work, steeped in his ethnicity, and wordlessly in love with his wife. Having cut him out of her iconic Salaam Bombay, Nair more than made up for that by giving him one of his most sensitive roles.

#5. By being in Hisss:

Irrfan routinely shocks his fans by appearing in tasteless Bollywood/Hollywood/mixed breed movies immediately after doing his usual exceptional work in Western movies and Indian indies. Hisss was no exception where he shared screen space with a deadly snake and a deadlier Mallika Sherawat. But then, whether it is TV, film or short film, or indeed life, Irrfan has tried everything at least once.