Actor Irrfan Khan passes away; proud of you, says Shoojit Sircar

Actor Irrfan Khan, who was battling a long time illness, passed away aged 53 on Wednesday morning, confirmed his friend and director Shoojit Sircar through a tweet. The 53-year-old actor had been admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with colon infection and was in the intensive care unit (ICU). He had stayed away from the promotions of last film English Medium due to the same illness and had penned down an emotional message for his fans. 

Sircar tweeted that Irrfan fought hard against the illness and said that he is proud of his friend. The two had worked together on Piku, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. 

“My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you.. we shall meet again.. condolences to Sutapa and Babil.. you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om shanti. Irfaan Khan salute,” he tweeted. 

My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you.. we shall meet again.. condolences to Sutapa and Babil.. you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om shanti. Irfaan Khan salute.

— Shoojit Sircar (@ShoojitSircar) April 29, 2020

The tweet came hours after Irrfan’s team issued a statement saying that the actor is still fighting the illness. The statement was released after media reports claimed different things about Irrfan’s health.

"It's really disappointing to know that there are extreme assumptions being made about Irrfan's health. While we are truly appreciative that people are concerned, it's disheartening to see some sources spread extreme rumours and creating panic. Irrfan is a strong person and is still fighting the battle. We really request you to not fall for rumours and not partake in these conversations which are fictional. We have always actively clarified and shared updates on his health and we will continue doing so," said the statement, issued by his spokesperson. 

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Irrfan is known for his work in films like Haasil (2003), Maqbool (2004), Life in a... Metro (2007), Haider (2014), Gunday (2014), Piku (2015) and Talvar (2015). He had won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the portrayal of Paan Singh Tomar in the acclaimed biographical sports drama Paan Singh Tomar (2011).

He was also part of international projects such as The Warrior (2001), The Namesake (2006), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016).