B-Town industry woke up to disappointing news of the death of versatile actor Irrfan Khan, who passed away at the age of 53. The actor was undergoing treatment for neuroendocrine cancer and was admitted at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Tuesday due to a colon infection. Irrfan's family including wife Sutapa Sikdar, son Babil Khan and relatives and his industry friends had rushed to the hospital to pay their final respects to the actor. (All images courtesy: Shadab Khan and Yogen Shah).
Nearly two years ago, in 2018, Irrfan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer and was undergoing treatment for the same. On Tuesday, the Piku actor had been admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection and was kept in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) care.
In picture: Irrfan Khan's family at Kokilaben hospital in Mumbai.
Irrfan's death has left countless fans reeling and has left a void in the Hindi film industry that's unlikely to be filled in the coming years. The Paan Singh Tomar actor is survived by his wife, writer Sutapa Sikdar and two sons Babil and Ayan.
In picture: Irrfan's wife Sutapa Sikdar (dressed in yellow) at Kokilaben hospital in Mumbai.
Director Shoojit Sircar, with whom Irrfan had worked in the blockbuster hit Piku, also visited the hospital. Mourning his loss, the director had earlier tweeted, "My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you.. we shall meet again.. condolences to Sutapa and Babil.. you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om shanti. Irfaan Khan salute (sic)."
Tigmanshu Dhulia was spotted at the hospital as well. The director had worked with the late actor in Paan Singh Tomar, Haasil and the second installment of the Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster film series.
Director-producer and music composer Vishal Bharadwaj also visited Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital and paid respects to the late actor. Vishal and Irrfan had worked together in the 2003 crime drama Maqbool, 7 Khoon Maaf, Haider, among others.
Mika Singh was also spotted at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital. Later, the singer took to his Twitter account to pay respect to Irrfan. He wrote, "Extremely saddened to hear of the demise of my brother and such a fine actor @irrfank. You leave us with all your beautiful films and memories which we will forever cherish. God bless your soul, RIP (sic)."
Actor Rajpal Yadav too paid his last respects to Irrfan Khan. The actor even tweeted to mourn the actor's demise. He wrote, "Shocked to hear about the demise of Irrfan bhai, one of the most exceptional actors we have. May his work always be remembered and his soul rest in peace. We will never be able to forget you, Irrfan bhai"
The actor was buried at the Versova kabristan in Mumbai at 3 pm on Wednesday in the presence of his family, close relatives and friends. An official statement regarding Irrfan's demise read, "'I trust, I have surrendered', these were the words that Irrfan expressed in a heartfelt note he wrote in 2018 opening up about his fight with cancer. And a man of few words and an actor of silent expressions with his deep eyes and his memorable actions on screen. It's saddening that this day, we have to bring forward the news of him passing away".
"Irrfan was buried at the Versova kabrastan in Mumbai at 3 pm this afternoon soon after the news of his passing away was announced. In presence were his family, close relatives and friends. Everyone paid their final respects and mourned the loss of his passing away. We pray for his peace and we hope he's in a better place today. He was strong in his fight, and we all have to be strong too in this loss," an official statement from his spokesperson said.
In picture: Irrfan Khan's brother (on the front seat) and the actor's wife Sutapa (back seat)
Irrfan entered Bollywood in 1988 with a small role in Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay. He gained widespread critical acclaim for his acting in Maqbool, The Namesake, A Mighty Heart, Paan Singh Tomar, Life of Pi, The Lunchbox, Haider, Gunday, Piku, Talvar, and Hindi Medium, amongst others. His last film Angrezi Medium released in March this year.
ADVERTISEMENT