A Poignant Tribute To Irrfan

On Wednesday, 29th April, the world was rocked by the passing of cultural icon Irrfan Khan. One of the most accomplished actors of his generation, Irrfan also achieved international acclaim and popularity. News of his death has flooded social media with tributes and remembrance.

One moving tribute comes from filmmaker Anand Gandhi, the creative director of film Tumbbad. “I have been recording conversations between scientists, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and artists as a part of a continuing film project,” says Gandhi. “In a hotel lobby of the INK Talks
Conference in 2015, I paired people who didn’t know each other together, for candid
freewheeling conversations. I offered them only three cues – the self, the ecosystem, and the future of humans.”

In one of these conversations, Irrfan Khan, along with entrepreneurs Asha Jadeja, Sunny Singh,
and Anu Aga, share insights with each other. As they inquire into spirituality, goodness, and the
modern human life, we see Irrfan as the profound thinker he was. Gandhi writes in the
introduction slide to the conversation, “(This is) a tribute to the great actor as I remember him –
a vast, compassionate, rational, and graceful seeker of truth.”

On Twitter, Gandhi added, “Great artists are sieves through which the zeitgeist sifts it’s dreams,
hopes, joys and anxieties. Irrfan Khan was one of the greatest artists I had the privilege to know.
He has imprinted upon each one of us parts of himself that we shall carry and pass on.”

The conversation-film can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta1hIFernqQ