Irrfan Khan, a powerhouse of incredible acting talent, passed away in a Mumbai hospital in the early hours of Wednesday, April 29, 2020, leaving a void in the Hindi film industry, an irreparable loss. He was only 53 years old and still had a lot to offer movie lovers. Disturbing news was circulating in 2018 that Irrfan had contracted a serious illness that, after months of harrowing speculation, was confirmed to be a neuroendocrine tumor, one of the rare forms of cancer. Since then he was fighting, fighting and fighting. He received treatment in the United States and then in London for months. He returned to India a few months ago and was unable to participate in the promotion of his latest film, Angrezi (English) Medium, and the film was also unable to be released due to the nationwide lockdown. What’s sadder, he lost his mother just a few days ago and was unable to attend his last rites in Jaipur, again due to the lockdown. Irrfan’s disappearance is a great tragedy as the country reels under the Coronavirus and lockdown.

The highlights of his 32-year career in the film industry were the incredibly varied roles and characters he played in Bollywood movies, as well as British and Hollywood productions. Considering the versatility of his acting prowess, roles were written for him that can only be compared to those of Amitabh Bachchan in the latter’s post-2000 career; the last glory of the crown for an actor. More importantly, Irrfan Khan was never a modern Bollywood hero in terms of desired attributes: handsome, tall, strongly built with an obsession preferably with bodybuilding, fighting and dancing skills, etc. He never danced around trees chasing after heroines. And yet, he played heroes, leading men in numerous films, both conventional and commercial, and endeared himself to all kinds of moviegoers in the country. He played all kinds of roles, living the characters, with his typical down-to-earth acting and uniquely casual style of dialogue delivery.

Irrfan Khan began his career in 1988 with a small role in the highly acclaimed ‘Salaam Bombay’ and after that he had years of struggling trying to establish himself through various roles in mostly offbeat films. His final recognition as an exceptionally talented actor came with his two films, ‘Haasil’ (2003) for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role and the internationally acclaimed ‘Maqbool’ (2004). He never looked back since then. A prominent movie that comes to mind is ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ (2011) in which he played the main character and won the National Award for Best Actor. Stunningly realistic movies like ‘Lunch Box’ (2013), ‘Piku’ (2015) and ‘Talvar’ (2015) followed, and also Hollywood movies, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ (2012), ‘Life of Pi’ (2012), ‘Jurassic World’ (2015) and ‘Hell’ (2016). His dramatic comedy ‘Hindi Medium’ (2017) became the highest grossing film of his career giving him another Filmfare Award for Best Actor, and the release of the sequel ‘Angrezi Medium’, Irrfan’s last performance, had to be postponed as mentioned . earlier. Although Irrfan mainly played serious and intense characters, his comedic timing was also established in movies like ‘Piku’ and ‘Hindi Medium’. He was awarded ‘Padma Shri’, India’s fourth highest civilian honour, in 2011.

For the past two years, not many of his films have been shown in theaters, which makes our hearts cry now, to miss his powerful performances on screen; however, as a consolation, his lovable movies like ‘Billu’ (2009), ‘The Lunchbox’, ‘Hindi Medium’, ‘Piku’, ‘Talvar’, ‘Jazbaa’ (2015), etc. were constantly shown around the world. small screens of movie channels. In his personal life, he was a devoted loving husband and doting father, leaving behind his co-actor wife and two sons.

As the Indian film fraternity and international fans pour out an endless stream of messages of shock, anguish and condolence, we deeply mourn the untimely death of Irrfan Khan and pray for his soul’s eternal happiness. Irrfan Khan, one of the greatest actors of all time, will live in our hearts forever. The painful struggle of him hoping against hope symbolizes what planet Earth is going through right now: uncertainty hangs over all fields of activity, including the film industry worldwide.