Naseeruddin Shah remembers Irrfan Khan, says, 'he continued to inspire people till the end'
Legendary actor rrfan Khan died April 29 at the age of 53 in Mumbai. He was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital due to a colon infection. Irrfan took his last breath at 11.11 am. Soon after news of his death broke on the internet, social media was flooded with messages from fans and celebrities expressing their grief. The whole of Wednesday saw a slew of comments and wishes from every corner. Now, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who worked with Irrfan Khan in critically acclaimed films including Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool and 7 Khoon Maaf, has opened up on his first meet with the actor and also confessed to have envied him.
Naseeruddin Shah wrote for The indian Express and said, "It is difficult to put it into words what Irrfan’s loss means to me. I was not very close to him or his family but Irrfan is an actor I envied. Not everybody is aware of how long and arduous a struggle an actor like Irrfan had. He has played umpteen walk-on parts and small roles in television serials and movies before he gained any kind of recognition. What was truly inspiring about a person like him is that all those years of rejections did not embitter him or make him lose faith in himself".
Naseeruddin Shah and Irrfan Khan shared screen space in maqbool.
"He continued to inspire people till the end. The way with which he fought the dreaded disease, the optimism he always had and the objectivity with which he approached it was startling to me. When the illness struck him, I didn’t know whether he would appreciate getting disturbed. So, I didn’t get in touch with him. But Irrfan sent me a message: “Knock knock, Naseer bhai”. So, I called him and spoke to him several times when he was in London (undergoing treatment). He knew the inevitable was coming, yet, he would say, “How many people has the chance to observe death coming at them? I’m lucky that I can see this thing approaching me and I can greet it.” It shook me up when he said this. I realised that this is the only way one can approach death, he added.
In 2018, Irrfan Khan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor, following which he underwent treatment in the UK for a year. Irrfan was last seen in his film Angrezi Medium. The film's theatrical release was affected due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
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