Shoojit Sircar and Irrfan Khan worked on films like 'Piku'. The two not only were close friends and colleagues but it was later during Irrfan's treatment that the two got closer. In an interaction with Samdish for his show 'Unfiltered By Samdish', the 'Sardar Udham' director spoke about the film, his friendship with Irrfan and how much he misses him.
Talking about his late night interactions with Irrfan when he was undergoing treatment, Shoojit admitted that Irrfan was supposed to do 'Sardar Udham'. In fact, after he had worked with him once, the filmmaker wanted to repeat him in his films.
When Shoojit was asked to describe Irrfan as a person, he said, “There was a certain Godliness in him that you wanted to be with, so attractive and deep that you wanted to hug him and be with him. You want to smile with him. There was something so deep, an affection and love for art, which made him a kind and warm person for everyone around him. It is difficult to find a man so warm like him in the industry. He was a rare kind."
Alternative therapy
The filmmaker reflected on Irrfan Khan's untimely passing in 2020 due to complications from a neuroendocrine tumor, suggesting that had the actor pursued alternative therapies alongside his conventional treatments, he might have lived a bit longer.
He shared, "Sometimes I think, maybe if I had suggested to Irrfan to try alternate therapies—though I have no way of knowing for sure—he might have survived a little longer. He went through chemotherapy and other standard treatments, but perhaps if he had explored other options, he might have had more time. The doctors had given him a two-year window, and unfortunately, he passed within that period."
The filmmaker continued, emphasizing how much Irrfan fought during his battle with illness: "It was almost in the final stages when he was diagnosed, and he put up a strong fight. But perhaps he needed to consider alternative treatments as well, because sometimes he would even slip into a trance-like state."