Tributes pour in as the Hindi film industry mourns Irrfan Khan's death

Actor Irrfan Khan's sudden death today came as a huge shock to the film industry. The 53-year-old was suffering from a rare cancer since 2018. His last rites were performed at 3pm today in Mumbai, in the presence of family members, some relatives and close friends.

Khan, who began his career with small roles in television serials like Bharat Ek Khoj (1988) and Chandrakanta (1994) and arthouse films like Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990), finally broke into mainstream Hindi cinema at the turn of 21st century. Khan was also one of the few Indian actors to successfully break into Hollywood.

Tributes have been pouring in for the actor from the Hindi film industry since the news of his death spread. Everybody, from actors to journalists, stand-up comedians to directors, mourned the loss.

Actress Deepika Padukone, Khan's co-star from the acclaimed Piku (2015), showed her grief by uploading a black image.

Tanmay Bhat, a stand-up comedian and co-founder of AIB, shared a heartfelt message on Instagram. Bhatt shared a fond memory of his first meeting with Khan, when they had approached him to shoot for a parody song. Bhatt also recalled how, despite the lack of facilities, Khan remained courteous, receptive, warm, and involved.

Lyricist Prasoon Joshi, now chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), praised the actor for battling the disease with a positive attitude till his last breath

Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who had worked with Khan in Life In A... Metro (2007), said the sudden demise of her dear co-star had benumbed her. 

Salman Khan and Aamir Khan also took to Twitter to offer their condolences.

Abhinav Deo, director of the Irrfan Khan-starrer Blackmail (2018), who had struck up a good friendship with the actor, said, "We have lost one of the greatest actors in our industry today. This loss is insurmountable. My condolences and wishes with his family. I wish god gives them the strength to face this difficult situation."

Khan had played the role of a husband who decides to blackmail his wife after discovering her infidelity in Deo's Blackmail. "We had a professional relationship at the start of shooting for my film," Deo recalled. "But as the shooting progressed and we started spending more time together, the professional relationship turned into a friendship.

"He was a gem of a personality. I got to learn a lot from him. He had a unique approach to life. Because of his serious roles, many people assumed he was a serious person who put a lot of time into rehearsals. But on the contrary he would prefer to act spontaneously. This is because he had immense faith in his craft. Be it serious, funny, he would perform any character with nonchalance. May he rest in peace."

Tanuja Chandra, who directed Khan in the romantic comedy Qarib Qarib Singlle (2017), felt that with his death Hindi cinema faces a huge loss. "I feel fortunate that he brought so much beauty and tenderness to the character in my film," the director said. "His ability to sparkle on screen and the fact that one never tires of watching him, that he will continue to bring joy to anyone who watches him enact whatever role there might be, this is something to cherish. A really huge loss for the world of Hindi cinema."

Naseeruddin Shah shared a quote Khan had written last year.

Comedian and actor Kapil Sharma also shared his condolences in a tweet.