'Shared some great memories with him': Sr Diplomat Vikas Swarup mourns Irrfan's demise

One of India's finest actors, Irrfan Khan passed away at the age of 53 on Wednesday. Reacting on his demise, Author and Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Swarup said that he is "deeply saddened" by the passing away of the gifted Irrfan Khan.

'He was very gracious in launching my novel'

Taking to Twitter, the senior Indian diplomat shared a picture of him along with Irrfan and wrote, "I shared some great memories with him at the Oscars as part of the Slumdog Millionaire team. He was very gracious in launching my novel The Accidental Apprentice. My heartfelt condolences to Sutapa and their two sons."

 

Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning 2008 movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' which is loosely based on Vikas Swarup's novel 'Q & A' had Irrfan playing a small yet memorable role of a police inspector and was seen along with other actors like Anil Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla in the movie.

'His loss will be deeply felt'

Earlier in the day, United States Ambassador to India Ken Juster condoled Irrfan Khan's death who passed away on Wednesday at a private hospital in Mumbai. "Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go to the family and friends of Irrfan Khan, renowned and respected Indian film actor. He was a true talent in the cinema industry, and his loss will be deeply felt," Juster said in a tweet.

The actor in 2018 had announced that he’d been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour. He was 53. Irrfan was last seen on screen in 'Angrezi Medium'. He was not a part of the film's promotions owing to his ill health. 

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In India, his most famous films include his debut, the Academy Award-nominated Salaam Bombay!, Maqbool (2004), Paan Singh Tomar (2011), The Lunchbox (2013), Haider (2014), Gunday (2014), Piku (2015) and Talvar (2015) and Hindi Medium (2017). Irrfan was also globally recognised for his performance in films like 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Inferno' and 'Life of Pi'. Irrfan was regarded as one of the finest actors in Hindi cinema.

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