The actor drops his surname from his films, as he does not want to be identified by his religion

Irrfan Khan has now decided to drop his surname from all his forthcoming films. The actor feels that there is no need to let a name speak for someone's cultural or religious identity. So much so that for the same reason, the actor even rejected few film offers.

It is learnt that Irrfan won't play roles that stereotype the Islamic identity. He has turned down parts in Rensil D'Silva's Kurbaan, Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children and Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which address themselves to the sensitive issue of the Islamic identity.

Talking about dropping his surname, Irrfan says, "I decided to drop the Khan from my name after I was repeatedly asked to state my religion on my passport. I found that very invasive. Religion is a very personal matter. After playing Paan Singh Tomar, I feel very Indian."

About rejecting film offers, the actor adds, "In the past I turned down Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday because it went into very uncomfortable areas of religion and politics.

The script made direct and scathing references to many political and religious groups. I wasn't comfortable with that. Mira Nair is a friend, and I hope she didn't mind my refusal."