Another unfortunate news in desperate times, veteran Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has passed away.
Irrfan had been struggling with a neuroendocrine tumour for the past two years and had even taken a year-long hiatus from films to focus on his treatment. At 53, he passed away surrounded by family after he was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai for a colon infection a day earlier.
Earlier in the week, his mother, Saeeda Begum, also passed away at the age of 95, in the city of Jaipur. The actor couldn’t attend the funeral due to health issues along with a nationwide lockdown being imposed in India due to coronavirus. Instead, he said his goodbyes via a video call.
Irrfan was known for his immaculate acting skills and he starred in cinematic masterpieces like Life of Pi, Lunchbox, Paan Singh Tomar and many more. His most recent film, Angrezi Medium was released just days before the lockdown was imposed in India. It was a sequel to the mega-hit Hindi Medium where he starred alongside Pakistani actress Saba Qamar. The actor wasn’t part of Angrezi Medium’s promotions because of his deteriorating health; he spoke to his fans via a video message ahead of the trailer release of the film.
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Saba took to her Instagram to express her shock about the news. She said, “Deeply disturbed to hear about the passing of Irrfan Khan. I still can’t absorb the news. It feels like yesterday coming back from the sets of Hindi Medium. You taught me a lot as an actor and a mentor. It is indeed a huge loss to the cinema world. Such a brilliant actor gone too soon. You left a huge irreplaceable void in Cinema Irfan. My heartfelt condolences to his family. May Allah give them the strength to bear this loss. RIP Raj. Yours Only, Meeta.”
The news has come as a shock as just hours earlier his spokesperson had clarified false rumours of his death that had spread following his hospitalization. Many Bollywood personalities including, Amitabh Bachchan and Karan Johar have expressed their condolences.
T 3516 – .. just getting news of the passing of Irfaan Khan .. this is a most disturbing and sad news .. 🙏
An incredible talent .. a gracious colleague .. a prolific contributor to the World of Cinema .. left us too soon .. creating a huge vacuum ..
Prayers and duas 🙏— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) April 29, 2020
Thank you for those indelible movie memories….thank you for raising the bar as an artist …thank you for enriching our Cinema….we will miss you terribly Irrfan but will always always be immensely grateful for your presence in our lives…..our cinema….we salute you🙏❤️😪
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) April 29, 2020
An actor that every director wanted to work with. A human being that gave his best in every role. Indian film’s most succesful export to Hollywood. A man loved by all. Sad to see #IrrfanKhan leave us, after what we thought was suucesfull fight against cancer. God bess you Irfan .
— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) April 29, 2020
The first shot that I witnessed as an asst. director was of Irfan khan . Calm , poised and so naturalistic , unlike anything i had seen before.A casual intensity that no other actor could pull off. Thank you Irfan for inspiring us. You will live on in our hearts forever.
— Emraan Hashmi (@emraanhashmi) April 29, 2020
Rest in peace @irrfank you have no idea what your kindness meant to me at a time I was at my least confident . My condolences to your family and loved ones.
— Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) April 29, 2020
Something Haute tried to get in touch with Saba Qamar for a comment. We are waiting for Saba to officially respond to the news. Meanwhile, our thoughts and prayers are with Irrfan’s family. May his soul rest in peace (Ameen).
