On Irrfan Khan's 54th birth anniversary, son Babil, friends Mahesh Bhatt, Tigmanshu Dhulia remember late actor

Irrfan Khan, who was last seen in the film Angrezi Medium passed away in April 2020. The date 7 January marks the actor's birth anniversary. On the occasion of his 54th birth anniversary, his family and colleagues from the industry have remembered the talented actor on social media.

On Irrfan Khan's birth anniversary, his son Babil Khan shared an emotional post on Instagram, remembering his father. Sharing a throwback video featuring Irrfan, Sutapa Sikdar, and Ayaan, Babil wrote that Irrfan did not believe in celebrating birthdays and never encouraged anyone to remember his birthday as well. The youngster, however, wrote that this time around, he could not forget the actor's birthday.

Stating that the family celebrated every day, he reminisced that their mother would have to remind them both of the actor's birthday.

He concluded the note by writing, “It’s your birthday Baba. Shoutout to all the technologically inept parents, notice that they did not finish saying that they miss me.”

See the post

In an interaction with E Times, filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, who worked with the actor in Haasil (2003) and Paan Singh Tomar (2012) recalled his first meeting with the late actor stating that the first time he saw Irrfan and Sutapa in action was in NSD where they were enacting the play Fujiyama.

Remembering the late actor as a shy, introverted guy in college who lived in one of the smallest rooms in the hostel building, Dhulia recalled that when he saw them display their craft he was blown away, and towards the end of Irrfan's term they had started bonding over their love for certain actors, cinema and storytellers.

Shoojit Sircar, who directed the late actor in the 2015 film Piku said that the death of Irrfan has left a vacuum, saying that his death was, perhaps, the biggest loss to the film industry in 2020. The director said that what stood about Irrfan was his spirit as a human being and his simplicity of belief in humanity. The director revealed they exchanged books in the last two years when he was going through his treatment and that they had a lot of conversations about a number of things other than cinema.

Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt who was friends with the actor shared a poignant note stating that the memory of the late actor fills him with warmth, adding that 2020 has been catastrophic and that for many, who have lost their loved ones, it has been brutal.

The note to The Times of India, saw the filmmaker quoting lines from an anonymous poet often referred to by the late actor, "But for every joy that passes, something beautiful remains." He concluded by stating that the memories of the time he spent with the late actor continue to flicker in his heart.

Actor Anushka Sharma too shared a picture of Irrfan Khan on her Instagram account alongside a heartfelt note, where she wrote, "A legendary figure of the industry! You will always be missed and your legacy will live on forever."

In an interaction with Bombay Times, Irrfan Khan's personal stylist Isha Bhansali revealed that the actor had a thing for lungis and there was a time when he even wanted to sport one during film promotions and asked her to source a nice one for him. Bhansali added that Irrfan was an artistic person who had knowledge of all kinds of art and had a beautiful collection of artifacts from various cultures in his house. According to her, the late actor even had an amazing sense of fashion.

Filmmaker Anees Bazmee shared an image with the actor on Twitter, writing, "To a man who was loved for his work across different film industries worldwide, and whose humble heart touched many lives. Remembering the man and the legend, #IrrfanKhan, on his birth anniversary! #RememberingIrrfanKhan."

Yash Raj Films, Dharma Productions, and Red Chillies Entertainment too tweeted about the legacy left behind by the actor.