Irrfan Khan has been diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour. The actor announced about his rare disease on Friday and asked them to keep praying for his health. However, the release of his upcoming film Blackmail hasn’t been deferred. Director Abhinay Deo, who met Irrfan Khan after the announcement says that he is undergoing treatment but is in good spirits.
Earlier this month, Irrfan left his fans restless as he shared a social media post talking about facing a "rare disease". His condition has kept him away from the promotions of his upcoming film "Blackmail", and even filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has postponed the shoot of his next with him and Deepika Padukone.
Deo told the media at a song launch for the film here on Friday: "I met him (Irrfan). He is fine and in good spirits... That, of course, we know that he is not well.... So I think he is right now away for his treatment and we should respect the family and their privacy on this particular matter.
"I don't have anything more to share with you. Till now we know as much as you know."
The "Blackmail" team, including Kirti Kulhari, Divya Dutta, Arunoday Singh and Omi Vaidya were present at the promotional event where the song "Badla" was launched. Divya, who has worked with Irrfan in four films, spoke on her experience of working with him.
"I have done about four films with him. When I first met him on the sets of 'Dubai Return' (2005), I got to know what Irrfan Khan is all about. We would not rehearse and he would give very charming smiles and say, 'We will see it in the shot'. And during the shot, the magic he would create and improvise, I think it is a treat for actors.
"Acting is all about reactions, and when you have someone like Irrfan Khan in front of you, one doesn't really need to work hard. I am really waiting for him to come back and give us some more magical films," she added.
"Blackmail" is a black comedy drama film, co-produced and directed by Deo. T-Series has also collaborated for the movie, which is releasing on April 6.
