Pankaj Tripathi, who is riding high on the success of Mirzapur 2 and Ludo is still distraught with Irrfan’s death. Pankaj has said that the late acclaimed actor was among his favourites. He shared screen space with him in Irrfan’s last screen appearance in Angrezi Medium. In a recent interview Pankaj revealed that Irrfan is probably the only Indian actor whose every film he has seen and credited him as a huge inspiration.
He said, “I really liked Irrfan Khan and was very sad when we lost him and even today I am, because he inspired me. I watched Maqbool, Warrior and almost all his films. I think he was the only Indian actor whose every film I’ve seen. I felt like he was doing something different and this is the impact acting should have.”
Pankaj Tripathi, Deepak Dobriyal and Irrfan in Angrezi Medium
Earlier, Pankaj had said in a statement that he did Angrezi Medium only because it would give him an opportunity to share screen space with Irrfan. He had said, “I’ve always been inspired by Irrfan’s performances as an actor. He has had a huge impact on my life, especially with his performances from Haasil, Maqbool, The Warrior, and Paan Singh Tomar. My guru and also my senior from the National School of Drama, I have always wanted to impact audiences the way he does. His contribution has been greatly acknowledged in Indian Cinema and my role in this film is almost like my ‘guru dakshina’ to him.”
Irrfan passed away on April 29, 2020, leaving a huge void in the hearts of his countless fans. He succumbed to neuroendocrine tumour after battling it for two years.
(Source: DNA)