Actor Irrfan Khan passes away at 54

PTI

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.

There was an outpouring of grief from various quarters, including politicians and civil servants as well as his colleagues and his many fans.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Irrfan will be remembered for his versatile performances across different mediums. His demise is a loss to the world of cinema and theatre, Modi wrote on Twitter.

The self-effacing National Award winner was honoured with Padma Shri in 2011.

“My thoughts are with his family, friends and admirers. May his soul rest in peace,” the Prime Minister said.

, 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. On March 5, 2018 that Irrfan revealed that he was suffering from “a rare disease”. The actor

In a philosophical note to his fans on Twitter, the actor wrote, “Sometimes you wake up with a jolt with life shaking you up. The last fifteen days, my life has been a suspense story. Little had I known that my search for rare stories would make me find a rare disease. I have never given up and have always fought for my choices and always will,” he had said.