Acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan has died after a two-year battle with neuroendocrine tumour. The news left his legion of fans shocked and distressed in India and abroad.
He was admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben hospital a day before where he was under observation for colon infection. 53 years old actor was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018.
Born to Muslim parents in the village of Tonk near Jaipur, Irrfan’s mother had a royal lineage but his father was a self-made man. Eldest of three siblings, Irrfan joined National School of Drama after his father’s death. Ironically, his mother, Saeeda Begum, died a few days before his death.
Khan did his schooling in Jaipur. He was fond of playing cricket and used to play at Chaugan Stadium in Jaipur. He was also selected in CK Naidu Trophy but his family was not in favour of playing cricket. After this he was influenced by theatre. In an interview he told that one day he reached to Ravindra Rangmanch office and asked them that he wanted to do theatre. Office staff suggested him to contact a theatre group. This is how he started his theatre journey
His last film was Angrezi Medium, ahead of which the actor had shared an empowering video message for his fans, stating that the only choice he had was to remain positive. “One doesn’t have any other choice but to remain positive. Whether you are able to make lemonade in such situations is entirely up to you. We’ve made this film with the same sort of positivity. I hope this film is able to make you laugh and cry in equal measure.”
In India, his most famous films include his debut, the Academy Award nominated Salaam Bombay!, Maqbool (2004), Paan Singh Tomar (2011), The Lunchbox (2013), Haider (2014), Gunday (2014), Piku (2015) and Talvar (2015) and Hindi Medium (2017)..
