Bestselling author Paulo Coelho paid a heartfelt tribute to acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan on Twitter and thanked him for his immense contribution to cinema. “A star joins other stars in the sky. Thank you for everything, Irrfan Khan. ‘Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable.’ ― Bhagavad Gita,” the writer tweeted.
A star joins other stars in the sky. Thank you for everything, Irrfan Khan
“Death is as sure for that which is born, as birth is for that which is dead. Therefore grieve not for what is inevitable.”
― Bhagavad Gita pic.twitter.com/WKaOlgf4bi— Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) April 30, 2020
Irrfan died on Wednesday morning due to complications related to colon infection. Earlier, in 2018, he was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour and underwent treatment in London for it. He is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikdar and son Babil and Ayaan.
Sutapa released a statement on behalf of their sons and herself, saying that the last two-and-a-half years were a ‘wondrous, beautiful, overwhelming, painful and exciting’ journey. “How can I write this as a family statement when the whole world is taking it as a personal loss? How can I begin to feel alone when millions are grieving with us at the moment? I want to assure everyone that this is not a loss, it is a gain. It’s a gain of the things he taught us, and now we shall finally begin to truly implement it and evolve,” she said.
During Irrfan’s cancer treatment, Sutapa stood by him like a rock and gave him the strength to overcome the difficult times. In an interview earlier this year, the actor had said that if he managed to survive his illness, he would want to live for her.
Sutapa, Babil and Ayaan were by Irrfan’s side in his last moments. He was cremated at the Versova burial ground in the presence of his family members and a few close friends. Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, actor Rajpal Yadav, comedian Kapil Sharma and singer Mika Singh were among those from the film fraternity who attended the funeral.
