'He was not my type but...' says Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa Sikdar on how they fell in love

New Delhi: On legendary actor Irrfan Khan's birth anniversary, his wife Sutapa Sikdar talked about how she fell for the talented actor while they were in the National School of Drama in a recent interview.

She recalled that she and Irrfan were very different from each other in terms of personality but there was something that drew her towards him. He was an introvert while Sutapta was outspoken and bold.

 

 

 

 

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However, even though, he was 'shy and had negligible social skills', she noticed him and the sincerity in him.

Recalling falling in love with Irrfan, Sutapa told Pinkvilla, "When you look back at things, they become clearer than when they actually happened. Irrfan always said, "You have a tendency to support the underdog and hence we are together." But now when the fog has cleared, and I can see everything without conditioning, I know it was destiny. We were meant to be together. It was a hot summer afternoon in Delhi when I saw him for the first time. A lanky bespeckled young man in a black terry-cotton bellbottom and a light green printed shirt, with a leather sling bag from Rajasthan, walking towards the NSD lobby. He was definitely not my type."

 

 

 

 

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"I was born and brought up in Delhi with the best exposure to world cinema, music, and art. We were starkly different. But yet, there was something about him, in spite of him being extremely shy with negligible social skills, which made me turn and look at this lanky boy. It was the sincerity written all over his face and his focus. In spite of being from a small town, he was not enamored. I knew this man had not come to try acting as just an alternate profession or because of the full scholarship, he had come there for passion, which hung around him like a halo," she added.

 

 

 

 

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Sutapa Sikdar is a National School of Drama alumna and met her husband and late actor Irrfan Khan at the institute. The duo got married in 1995 and has two kids - Babil and Ayaan.

Sikdar has written dialogues for many Bollywood films such as Supari, Shabd, and Kahaani and even produced the comedy romance Qarib Qarib Singlle in 2017. 

Irrfan Khan died in April 2020 at Mumbai Kokilaben hospital due to a colon infection.

The brilliant actor battled a rare form of cancer - Neuroendocrine Tumour for two long years and had shared the news of his illness first on social media.

Born as Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, he made his on-screen debut with 'Haasil' in 2003. In a short span of time, Irrfan carved a niche for himself in Bollywood as well as Hollywood with his unmatched acting talent.

And since then, the 53-year-old actor has stood out with his acting skill, choice of roles and offbeat films.