It’s been almost a year we lost Irrfan. 2020 snatched away a lot from us, our idols, beloved ones, our normal life. One such darling person was Irrfan.
The news came like an aftershock after a huge jolt of tremor in the name of Covid Pandemic. The man with those soulful eyes and jovial smile has left us for the heavenly abodes.
The News of his Rare Disease
It was one busy afternoon in Delhi when the social media feed was filled with the news of Irrfan being diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor. I turned to google to fetch some information about this unpronounceable disease. Though I did not understand much I was pleased with some information saying the fatality rate is very low in this disease.
I was quite sure that he would emerge victorious like his other Bollywood contemporaries. His tweets in his hospital days in London were so thought-provoking and insightful, citing the most certain thing about life – death. His hospital was situated opposite the World-famous cricket stadium, Lords. Cricket depicts life and hospital depicts death. Life and death travel hand in hand, standing next to each other. It is the infinite loop from zero to infinity, what we call our dearest life.
His Return to Movies
Irrfan’s return to cinema with Angrezi Medium was a wild roar in our hearts as our beloved hero was back. But the almighty had some other plans for us, the release of the movie got stalled due to the pandemic and a month later he was taken away from us, just four days after the demise of his mother who he could not meet due to the lockdown.
The Gentle Demeanor and Underacting
I remember watching the Namesake in my college days and how I felt a void inside when his character died of a heart attack. I always under huge influence of the character Ashok who says, “Pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late.” The composure of a Bengali gentleman that he showcases throughout the movie is terrific.
Irrfan brings back his calm and composed self in another matured love story, The Lunchbox. Irrfan underplayed this lonesome, soon to be retired gentleman with such fineness. The climax scene is still one of the most poetic ones where the grey hair and the smell of his grandfather, a remembrance of his growing age, stop him from meeting the young, vibrant, and dreamy-eyed Illa.
The Quirky Irrfan
We see him flaunting a vibrant and sporting side in Life in a Metro, Piku, Qarib Qarib Single, and Karwaan. I always feel Yogi from Qarib Qarib Single is an extended version of Monty from Life in a Metro. The full of life, jovial personality of him accepts life as it is and seeks happiness from tiny little things of life. This personality trait has made him a go-to-guy who has a solution for all the problems in life – remember the loud shout from a Mumbai Highrise to vent out the frustration?
Likewise, Rana from Piku indulges in sarcastic yet funny banters with the father-daughter duo on the long road trip. Karwaan, the criminally underrated road movie, stands out especially for the hilarious dialogues mouthed by Irrfan. His comic-timing was so natural, unpretentious.
The Sleeping Volcano
Irrfan possesses a personality of a sleeping volcano which we get to see in Pan Singh Tomar, Madaari, and Talwar. Madaari, a jugalbandi of two legends – Nishikant Kamat and Irrfan, has a revenge-stricken man who would go any heights to avenge his son’s death. The angst in his eyes, disguised under the garb of an unsettling calmness, would melt your heart. The molten lava comes out in the jaw-dropping climax sequence exposing the bureaucratic corruption in its grass-root level, making it one of the best climaxes in the history of Indian Cinema.
Irrfan’s loss felt so personal, a permanent void that would never be filled. The man has proved that talent and hard work can never be replaced by good looks, washboard abs, or favoritism.
Irrfan never celebrated his birthdays nor his anniversaries. According to him, birthdays are the haunting reminders of moving one step ahead towards death. Instead of celebrating your birthday, we rather celebrate your work of art, in that way you will alive in our hearts forever.
