2020 was indeed a rough year, more so for Bollywood. First came the shocker with Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely death, and then legendary actors like Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan bid adieu in the most tragic ways. Actor Irrfan Khan, one of the finest gems of Bollywood, unfortunately, succumbed to cancer after fighting a 2-year long battle. Fans all around the world couldn’t wrap their head around the fact that the actor was no more, tragic news that shook Bollywood.
When recalling his conversation with the later actor, Naseeruddin Shah, 71, revealed in a recent interview how Irrfan knew that this was going to happen for about 2 years.
That was a unique thing because Irrfan knew for about two years that it was going to happen. I spoke to him several times over the phone even when he was in the hospital in London. It was amazing and it was a real lesson how he dealt with it. He would say: ‘I am observing death approaching me and how many people get that opportunity? To be able to see this grim reaper coming towards you and you are almost welcoming him’. Of course, it was a terrible loss. But it was not in our hands. It was just your bodily machinery shutting down. You don’t have any control over it” Naseeruddin shared. The two worked have worked together in many films including “Maqbool” (2003) and “7 Khoon Maaf” (2011).
He further added, “I don’t think it is healthy to obsess about death. I definitely don’t do that. I have experienced several deaths of my close ones — my family, my parents. Also, some dear friends, particularly the unexpected ones — the way Om [Puri] died, the way Farooq [Shaikh] died — were terrible shocks. But it does no good to obsess over it. I think that death is the most unimportant part of life and ironically also the most unavoidable one as well. I don’t dwell on it at all. I will go when I have to go. As long as I am around I want to be as alert and as alive as possible. I would not like my friends to be lamenting about me when I am gone but celebrating and laughing and talking about the things I did. I would rather they remember me for the life I have lived than talk about how I died.”
The late actor has left behind his wife Sutapa Sarkar and sons Babil Khan and Ayaan Khan. His wife shared how she ‘tried to be too strong’ coping up with the irreparable loss.
“I think I tried to be too strong, you know. I pretended to be too strong and I took to family responsibilities and duties and everything else. Too early, too strong” she said.
The late actor had once shared about Naseeruddin Shah, quoting him as one of his ‘inspirations’, “l came to this industry to prove myself and was looking for direction. Naseersaheb’s performance gave me that ” the actor had shared.
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