Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa Sikdar says, 'Not lost, have gained in every which way'

Irrfan Khan's producer-wife, Sutapa Sikdar, on Thursday wrote an emotional post along with the picture of the late actor. The 54-year-old actor lost his battle with a rare form of cancer and died in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday. He is survived by Sutapa and their two sons -- Babil and Ayaan.

Sutapa shared an image on Facebook, which she turned into her display picture, where she had wrapped her arms around Irrfan and the duo are smiling, looking in the camera. "I have not lost, I have gained in every which way..." she captioned the picture.

Irrfan's son, Babil also took to Instagram and uploaded a story, writing, he was "deeply grateful' for the condolences coming in from all over the world.

"Although, I hope you understand that right now I'm not being able to reply because my vocabulary is dizzy. I will get back to each one of you but just not right now. Thank you so much! I love you," he said.

The self-effacing National Award winner, who acted in films as diverse as "Life of Pi", "The Namesake", "Haasil" had stayed away from the public eye after being diagnosed with the neuroendocrine tumour in 2018. He later went to the UK for treatment. The actor returned to the country in 2019 and shot for "Angrezi Medium", the sequel to his 2017 hit "Hindi Medium". However, his health condition prevented him from promoting the movie, which hit the theatres in March just before the lockdown that began on March 25. 

Irrfan Khan's funeral: Producer Sandip thankful he could 'walk with Irrfan one last time'

A spokesperson of actor Irrfan Khan confirmed the news of his death and issued a statement. Here is what it said.

“I trust, I have surrendered”; These were the some of the many words that Irrfan expressed in a heartfelt note he wrote in 2018 opening up about his fight with cancer. And a man of few words and an actor of silent expressions with his deep eyes and his memorable actions on screen. It’s saddening that this day, we have to bring forward the news of him passing away.

Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him. After having been struck by lightning in 2018 with the news of a rare cancer, he took life soon after as it came and he fought the many battles that came with it. Surrounded by his love, his family for whom he most cared about, he left for heaven abode, leaving behind truly a legacy of his own. We all pray and hope that he is at peace. And to resonate and part with his words he had said, “As if I was tasting life for the first time, the magical side of it”.

(PTI inputs)