Irrfan Khan loses battle with cancer

MUMBAI :

IRRFAN Khan, as much at home in the Hollywood superhero film “The Amazing Spiderman” as in the introspective “The Lunchbox”, lost his battle with a rare form of cancer and died in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday. He was 54. Irrfan, one of India’s finest and most versatile actors, is survived by his wife Sutapa and his sons Babil and Ayaan. He was buried at the Versova graveyard. It is the second tragedy for the family in less than a week.

The “Maqbool” actor lost his mother, 95-year-old Saeeda Begum, in Jaipur just four days ago and could not attend the funeral because of the nationwide lockdown. Irrfan, that rare artiste who straddled multiple worlds, making his mark in both international and Indian cinema in roles intense and light-hearted, was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital with a colon infection. He was surrounded by his loved ones in his last moments. News of the death of the actor, who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, a rare form of cancer that attacks various parts of the body, was confirmed by his family in a statement. “I trust, I have surrendered,” the family recalled him as saying when he was diagnosed with the disease.

There was an outpouring of grief from various quarters, including politicians and civil servants as well as his colleagues and his many fans. The news of his death was first confirmed by his “Piku” director Shoojit Sircar who sent his condolences to the family and doffed his hat to the actor’s fighting spirit. “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,” the director said on Twitter.

“Piku” co-star Amitabh Bachchan remembered Irrfan as an “incredible talent” and a gracious colleague. “... A prolific contributor to the World of Cinema... Left us too soon... Creating a huge vacuum...,” Bachchan tweeted. Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, who shared the screen with the actor in 2008 comedy “Sunday”, said Indian cinema suffered an “irreparable loss” in Irrfan’s death. The self-effacing National Award winner, who acted in films as diverse as “Life of Pi”, “The Namesake” and “Haasil”, had stayed away from the public eye after his diagnosis in 2018 when he went to the UK for treatment.