Irrfan Khan Birth Anniversary: Fans Pour In Tribute

Irrfan Khan has left a gap in cinema after his death that cannot be filled ever. The legendary actor contributed massively towards artistic cinema with his roles in Bollywood as well as Hollywood. The world celebrated his birth anniversary on January 7 and here are a few wishes that touched our hearts.

Irrfan Khan always had the burning desire to be on the big screen. During his acting days back in the National School of Drama, he gathered as much knowledge and experience as he can, making memories and friends and falling in love with Sutapa Sikdar. He debuted in the 90s with movies like Such A Long Journey and Ek Doctor Ki Maut which gained critical acclaim but not Khan. But that was just the beginning of an impactful and memorable journey.

Suggested Reading: Remembering Irrfan Khan: Actor's 'Karwaan' Is A Memorable Road Trip

Irrfan Khan Left A Void In The Indian Film Industry

Khan went on to do great roles in movies like Maqbool, The Warrior and Road To Ladakh garnered great reviews at international film festivals. His first Bollywood lead role came in 2005 with Rog and that's when he was noticed by the audience. By 2020, he had starred in more than 70 movies including Piku, Karwaan, Talvar and The Lunchbox and international movies like Inferno, The Life Of Pi and The Amazing Spider-Man. In 2018, he was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour and he underwent chemotherapy in London. By 2019, his health improved and he was back to work.

However, in 2020, Irrfan Khan's mother's health declined and she died on April 25. Her death took a huge toll on his mental health. His health deteriorated and was admitted to ICU at Mumbai's Kokilaben Hospital. The 53-year-old actor lost his life to colon infection on April 29 and left an irreplaceable void.

Irrfan Khan Birth Anniversary

On his birthday on January 7, 2023, Khan's son and actor Babil Khan shared a series of unseen old pictures of him from his childhood on Instagram. There were pictures in which Irrfan Khan can be seen holding him in his arms, lying on the floor on his side and clicking Babil and his wife Sutapa Sikdar's pictures.

He wrote, "Questions keep me up at night. Those that I never asked then, those that I can never ask now. My inquiries are left for me to quench on my own, that’s okay, I will figure it out. I miss your laughter though, I don’t think there is an answer for that. Remembering a day when you arrived here."

An illustration page Birdcages on Instagram shared an illustration of Irrfan Khan as a tribute, sitting in front of a cake and reading a 'Happy Birthday' card and captioned it as, "Remembering Irrfan Khan on his birth anniversary". Film critic Rajeev Masand shared a fond memory of him with Khan along with a message that he spoke about him leaving a legacy, he tweeted "On Irrfan’s birthday, couldn’t help revisiting these wise, important words he shared when we spoke about leaving a legacy. This clip is from The Actors Roundtable that we shot less than six years ago".

The director of the film D Day, Nikhil Advani paid his tributes to the actor on a long note on Twitter about the memories he shares with Khan. Another tribute on Twitter read, "For me, these lines are what Irrfan Khan truly was. Rooh. Lafaani. "Mai tha, mai hoon aur mai hi rahunga"" with a picture of Irrfan Khan's character from Haider. A fan on Twitter summed up his existence in a single sentence and wrote, "#IrrfanKhan was Irrfan Khan. No other adjectives can describe him." The fans showered their love for the actor on social media on his birth anniversary.