'He has spoiled me for life', says Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa in emotional statement, sons Babil and Ayaan share father's teaching

New Delhi: The iconic and one of the most talented actors of Indian cinema, Irrfan Khan breathed his last on April 29, 2020, Wednesday. The actor was rushed to Kokilaben hospital due to colon infection a day before. His death sent shockwaves not just across the nation but also worldwide, with Hollywood celebrities mourning his demise. 

The actor par excellence battled was suffering from a rare form of cancer - Neuroendocrine Tumour for two long years and had shared the news of his illness first on social media. As soon as the unfortunate news of his demise broke online, celebs, fans and well-wishers thronged social media to offer their condolences.

A day after his death, his wife Sutapa Sikdar has released a family statement which has her sons Babil and Ayaan's share of learnings from their father Irrfan. 

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. Yet I want to try to fill in the things that people don’t already know.

It’s unbelievable for us but I would put it in Irrfan’s words, “it’s magical” whether he is there or not there, and that’s what he loved, he never loved one dimensional reality. The only thing I have a grudge against him is; he has spoiled me for life. His strive for perfection doesn’t let me settle for ordinary in any thing. There was a rhythm which he always saw in everything, even in cacophony and chaos, so I have learnt to sing and dance to the music of that rhythm, even with my tone-deaf voice and two left feet. Funnily, our life was a masterclass in acting, so when the dramatic entry of the “uninvited guests” happened, I had by then learnt, to see a harmony in the  cacophony. The doctor’s reports were like scripts which I wanted to perfect, so I never miss any detail that he sought for in his performance.

We met some amazing people in this journey and the list is endless, but there are some whom I have to mention, our oncologist Dr. Nitesh Rohtogi (Max hospital Saket) who held our hand in the beginning, Dr. Dan Krell (UK), Dr. Shidravi (UK), my heartbeat and my lantern in the dark Dr. Sevanti Limaye (Kokilaben hospital). It’s difficult to explain what a wondrous, beautiful, overwhelming, painful and exciting this journey has been. I find this 2 and 1/2 years to have been an interlude, which had it’s own beginning, middle and culmination with Irrfan helming the role of the orchestra conductor, separate from the 35 years of our companionship, ours was not a marriage, it was a union. I see my little family, in a boat, with both my sons Babil and Ayaan, paddling it forward, with Irrfan guiding them “wahan nahi, yahan se modo” but since life is not cinema and there are no retakes, I sincerely wish my children sail this boat safely with their father’s guidance in mind and rockabye through the storm. I asked my children, if possible, they could sum up a lesson taught by their father that has been important to them;

Babil: ’Learn to surrender to the dance of uncertainty and trust your faith in the universe”

Ayaan: “Learn to control your mind and to not let it control you.”

Tears will flow as we will plant a raat ki rani tree, his favourite, to the place where you have put him to rest after a victorious journey. It takes time but it will bloom and the fragrance will spread and touch all the souls whom I won’t call them fans but family for years to come.

The emotional and heartfelt statement will surely bring back memories of the great actor and a wonderful human being that Irrfan was. 

His wife even changed her Facebook profile picture with a touching caption. 

PM Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and other political leaders including entertainment industry people have mourned his death and offered condolences to family and friends in this hour of grief. 

Irrfan's last rites were performed on April 29, at the Versova Kabrastan in Andheri, Mumbai. His relatives and close ones paid their last respects. Throughout his illustrious showbiz career, the master craftsman was applauded for several of his notable works and praised for many.