His Last word – Amma (Mother) has
come to take me.
Khan, who fought a long battle with cancer, carved out a stellar career in Bollywood, Hollywood and other Western films.
The Bollywood star was among the first Indian actors to make
a consistent mark in Western cinema and had appeared in several Hollywood
pictures, including "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Life of Pi."
Bollywood star ‘’Irrfan Khan’’ has died at the age of 53 (1967
– 2020) after a prolonged battle with cancer, his publicist said on Wednesday.
"Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the
very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him," his
publicist said in a statement.
Khan's international movie career included Hollywood hits
such as Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and The Amazing Spider-Man.
Alongside Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth and Om Puri, Khan was
among the first line of Indian actors to leave a mark in Hollywood and
Anglo-American cinema.
"I never knew I would be so sad — I felt a punch in my
heart," Adil Hussain, who was in Life of Pi with Khan, told DW. "He
was able to express himself with the utmost vulnerability and where he embodied
the character in a wholesome way to give access to the audience to look at his
soul."
Long illness
The actor, who was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor in
2018, was admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital earlier this
week with a colon infection.
After revealing he had been diagnosed with the tumor in
2018, Khan received extensive treatment and recovered well enough to shoot
Angrezi Medium, the film which would turn out to be his last, and whose release
this March was cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Guardian
reported.
Breaking into mainstream cinema
He was born Saahabzaade Irfan Ali Khan in Jaipur, the son of
a tire seller, and went to drama school after failing as a cricketer.
The now globally acclaimed Hollywood and Bollywood actor
struggled to make headway in the film industry in his early days, only finding
regular work in small TV soap operas.
Khan's breakthrough role came with the feature debut of
then-unknown British director Asif Kapadia, whose 2002 low-budget film The
Warrior was shot in India.
The Warrior went on to win the BAFTA award for best British
film and was selected for the prestigious San Sebastian film festival.
Khan subsequently broke into mainstream films and alongside
Bollywood, maintained a career in British and Hollywood cinema.
"He will be remembered as one of the finest actors in
India, for sure, and for his contribution to world cinema, as well," said
Adil Hussain. "He will remain as one of the most revered actors, most respected actors. He's going to be an inspiration to new kind of actors in
India to portray roles with a lot of realism, which generally wasn't the case
in the so-called Bollywood film industry."
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