Avijit Ghosh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; April 30, 2020)

His eyes were multi-taskers. They could rage like a bushfire, be warm and tender like a grandma’s lap and convey the chaos inside a head for the world to see. Irrfan Khan, who passed away in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday, sourced his eyes — and that lean, gangly frame — to create a cache of unforgettable characters in both Bollywood and Hollywood. He was 53.

Shoojit Sircar, his director in ‘Piku’, broke the news on social media. Sircar tweeted, “My dear friend Irrfan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you…”

In 2018, the Jaipur-born actor was diagnosed with a malignant neuroendocrine tumour. He underwent treatment in London and recovered to rejoin work last year. Irrfan’s latest, ‘Angrezi Medium’, was released days before the lockdown and shifted to an OTT platform. His mother, Saeeda Begum, had passed away last week.

Any actor would be proud to own a resume like him. ‘Haasil’, ‘Paan Singh Tomar’, ‘Maqbool’, ‘Life In A Metro’, ‘The Lunchbox’ and ‘Hindi Medium’ are marked by sincerity of performance and polished aesthetics that fetched him awards and applause.

If Bollywood was his bread, Hollywood became his butter in the latter part of his glittering career.
------------------
‘Bhaijaan has gone to meet our mother’

Already mourning the recent death of Irrfan’s mother Saeeda Begum, his family in Jaipur was devastated a second time. “It appears that as Bhaijaan was unable to make it for the burial of our mother, he has gone to meet her,” said younger brother Imran Khan.
------------------
A love story that bloomed at NSD

Irrfan met his wife, Sutapa, at National School of Drama (NSD), from where they both graduated in 1987. His friend, Alok Chatterjee, now director of MP School of Drama, wrote a note on his behalf and slipped it to Sutapa. She told him to ask Irrfan to speak to her rather than using a ‘dakia’.


Irrfan and Sutapa studied at NSD. Alok Chatterjee, who now heads MP School of Drama, played messenger for Irrfan, conveying his feelings to Sutapa. She was not amused, but finally agreed to go out with him