It was an emotional day for Irrfan Khan’s son Babil Khan and his wife Sutapa Sikdar as they observed the iconic actor’s first death anniversary on April 29.
To mark his year-long absence, Babil shared an emotional note along with an unseen photo of the late actor from his chemotherapy days on his Instagram. He wrote about how his void can never be filled by anybody else in their lives.
“Chemo burns you from the inside, so to find joy in the simple things, like building your own table to write your own journals. There is a purity, I have not yet discovered. There is a legacy that has already been concluded by my Baba himself. A full stop. Nobody can ever replace him. Nobody will ever be able to. To the greatest best friend, companion, brother, father, I ever had and ever will have. I love you so much, for the rest of this chaos we are choosing to call life,” wrote Babil.
The image that he shared saw Khan huddled as he fixed a white desk.
Khan,53, died in Mumbai after his prolonged battle with cancer since 2018.
“I miss you, more than all that shah-Jahan/mumtaz stuff; I would have built a space monument that could have taken us to the furthest parts of a blackhole singularity you were always intrigued by, but I would have been there with you Baba, and we could have gone together, hand in hand. (Exploring the last mysteries),” he added.
Along with the image, he also shared a handwritten note by Khan. A note scribbled by Khan read: “The most amazing period of life in London 25 June 2018/ The period of realisation of inner mechanism and the experience of magic.”
In an interview with Film Companion, the mother-son duo also spoke about the last few days of Khan’s life.
“I was there in the hospital, two-three days before he died. He was losing consciousness and one of the last things he said...He just looked at me, smiled and said ‘I am going to die’ and I told him ‘No you are not’. He then smiled again and went back to sleep.” recalled Babil.
His wife Sikdar spoke about how Khan was thoroughly earnest.
“I feel the most precious quality about him, was that he never pretended. If he is angry with you, or he is in love with you. Main thing is, when he is in love with you and says ‘I love you’, he did not pretend. He did not say it, till he meant it,” she said.
Khan was one of India’s biggest cultural exports. In 2017, Khan received the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff) Honorary Award for his contributions to films in a career spanning more than three decades. His last film was ‘Angrezi Medium’.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News just before his swan song ‘Angrezi Medium’s released in the UAE cinemas, Khan reminded everyone to embrace life.
“I tell life: ‘Lag Jaa Gale Ki Phir Yeh Haseen Shaam Ho Naa Ho, Shayad Is Janam Mein Mulaqaat Ho Na Ho [Embrace and hug me life, for your never know if we will ever have this magical evening like this or not, Perhaps we may meet or never meet again in my lifetime],” said Khan, alluding to the iconic romantic song sung by Lata Mangeshkar that encapsulates the frailties of life.
Khan began his acting career working in Indian cinema, starring in a number of TV Series including the hit ‘‘Banegi Apni Baat, and the Academy Award-nominated ‘Salaam Bombay!.’
Khan first gained international acclaim for his role in ‘The Warrior’ (2001), a film set in the Indian State of Rajasthan where Khan plays Lafcadia, a fierce warrior who abandons his tyrannical Lord to seek peace in his village.
Thereafter, Khan starred in Asvin Kumar’s short film Road to ‘Ladakh’ (2003) which received good reviews on the international festival circuit, and played the title role in the critically acclaimed adaptation ‘Maqbool’ (2003), and the Bollywood film ‘Haasil’ (2003). He also featured in Hollywood hits ‘A Mighty Heart’ with Angelina Jolie and Oscar-winning ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
