The Indian actor Irrfan Khan, the Bollywood and Hollywood fame who died Wednesday at age 53, was remembered as a “prolific contributor to the World of Cinema” by fellow actors and directors who paid tribute to the star.
Khan died on Wednesday in Mumbai, India, after battling with a neuroendocrine tumo. He appeared in over 150 Bollywood and Hollywood films dating back to the mid-1980s, including Oscar Best Picture winner “Slumdog Millionaire,” as well as blockbusters “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “Jurassic World.”
“This is a most disturbing and sad news,” Bollywood acting legend Amitabh Bachchan said in a tweet. An incredible talent, a gracious colleague, a prolific contributor to the World of Cinema, left us too soon, creating a huge vacuum. Prayers and duas.”
“Deeply sad to have lost #IrrfanKhan. A thoughtful man who found beauty in the world around him, even in pain,” Colin Trevorrow, who directed Khan in “Jurassic World,” said in a tweet. “In our last correspondence, he asked me to remember ‘the wonderful aspects of our existence’ in the darkest of days.”
Khan revealed two years earlier that he had been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor, an abnormal growth that affects the cells that release hormones into the bloodstream.
“My dear friend Irfaan [sic]. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you. We shall meet again,” Bollywood director Shoojit Sircar said in a tweet.
“The Office” star Mindy Kaling described Khan as her favorite actor on Wednesday. “I can’t think of someone who gave such layered and thoughtful performances but was also a movie star; you couldn’t take your eyes off of him onscreen. Love and peace to his family,” Kaling said.
Kaling also shared a quote from an interview Tom Hanks gave in which Hanks said the Hollywood star said he wanted to adopt every acting trick his co-star on “Inferno” knew.
“And as soon as I walked up to him I said, ‘Irrfan Khan, I’m going to steal from you everything I possibly can,’” Hanks said in the interview. “I’m going to start speaking very quietly in films. I’m going to wear very nice suits. And I will draw out the last sound of every sentence that I say. And by doing that, I will be the doing a very pale imitation of the coolest guy in the room.”
Some of the directors he worked with, including Marc Webb and Ang Lee, also paid their tributes on Wednesday.
“Irrfan made it clear that power and gentleness could co-exist in a perfect balance,” Webb, who directed Khan in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man” said in a statement to TheWrap. “When he sings that song to his new wife at the bathroom door in The Namesake, it speaks of his father in Life of Pi you are witnessing the magic of a magnificent talent. He may have been the most nuanced actor I have ever worked with and I will always be his dedicated fan. My thoughts and whole heart are with his loved ones.”
“Irrfan was a great artist, a true gentleman and a brave fighter. His passing away is cinema’s loss,” “Life of Pi” director Lee said in a statement. “We will miss him dearly. May you Rest In Peace my dear friend.”
See more tributes to Khan below:
T 3516 – .. just getting news of the passing of Irfaan Khan .. this is a most disturbing and sad news .. 🙏
An incredible talent .. a gracious colleague .. a prolific contributor to the World of Cinema .. left us too soon .. creating a huge vacuum ..
Prayers and duas 🙏— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) April 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/ShoojitSircar/status/1255377784773410818
Each Irrfan Khan performance was music — full of soul, heart, wit and his own singular rhythm. And he was the loveliest man. Such an awful loss. https://t.co/FFHR4KtJKu
— Cameron Bailey (@cameron_tiff) April 29, 2020
Irrfan Khan – what a brilliant actor. Great loss to the world of cinema. May he rest in peace pic.twitter.com/GP6Tj087Dt
— Humayun Saeed (@iamhumayunsaeed) April 29, 2020
Deeply sad to have lost #IrrfanKhan. A thoughtful man who found beauty in the world around him, even in pain. In our last correspondence, he asked me to remember “the wonderful aspects of our existence” in the darkest of days. Here he is, laughing. pic.twitter.com/8eAsSOO9Ie
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) April 29, 2020
A mainstay of Bollywood cinema and incredible talent in films like “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Life of Pi” and “The Namesake,” Irrfan Khan left his imprint on global cinema. An inspiration to millions, he will be greatly missed. pic.twitter.com/o21DMMC2o5
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) April 29, 2020
Today, we remember the charismatic and incomparable Irrfan Khan, who passed away this morning at the age of 53. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/GMesF503Pq
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) April 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/1255510619131990020?s=20
https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/1255517543613243392?s=20
In d year 2000 a film directed by #IrrfanKhan named ALVIDA starred me & I ws lucky 2 hv my mentor as my co-star in many films.
No 1 wil evr b able 2 fill his space in d entire world of cinema.
Never thot in d worst of my dreams, dat wil hv 2 say “ALVIDA” so soon RIP #IrrfanKhan— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) April 29, 2020
"It's the heart. If the heart is in the right place, you don't need anything. It crosses the barrier of language, nationality, race, everything. That's the magic of cinema." The loss of Irrfan Khan is a major blow to cinema. An incredible talent gone far too soon. May he R.I.P🕊️ pic.twitter.com/CpAxonFTFc
— Tribeca (@Tribeca) April 29, 2020
The charisma you brought to everything you did was pure magic. Your talent forged the way for so many in so many avenues.. You inspired so many of us. #IrrfanKhan you will truly be missed. Condolences to the family. pic.twitter.com/vjhd5aoFhc
— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) April 29, 2020
Rest in peace one of the greatest actors of our time, Irrfan Khan. I never met him but he was an inspiration and a hero to me and millions of others. His work was consistently transcendent, he was a guiding light for so many of us. pic.twitter.com/BwobeLvNLn
— Riz Ahmed (@rizwanahmed) April 29, 2020
Never knew that his death would make me so very Sad. Felt like a punch in my heart. We only met a few times. It was his portrayals of roles which gave me a window to his Vulnerability and Beauty that he possessed. Deep Empathy he evoked in me. Please rest well Irrfan. Deep Love.
— Adil hussain (@_AdilHussain) April 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/ava/status/1255393502931845121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1255393502931845121&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com%2Fnews%2Firrfan-khan-dies-hollywood-reacts-1292365