Amala Akkineni Instagram – Irrfan Khan was a great actor who will be remembered. Wishing him a peaceful eternal journey 🙏🏻 #Repost @the_hindu • • • • • • National Film Award winning actor Irrfan Khan passed away today in Mumbai after a prolonged battle with cancer. Here is an excerpt from the book “Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, The Star” by Aseem Chhabra: While he managed to get admission into NSD, Irrfan took a while to shed his shy, introverted personality. His NSD friends remember him as someone who did not mingle much with others. There was a quieter but focused side to him. One thing Irrfan’s NSD classmates remember is his obsession with Naseeruddin Shah. ‘We would all tease him about it,’ actor Mita Vashisht says. ‘It was like, “Arre yaar Irrfan, Naseer ko chhod do (Please, Irrfan, forget about Naseer).” But it was how he wanted to approach a role, the way he wanted perform. We often saw Naseer in his performances.’ Years later Irrfan was honest enough to confess to Naseeruddin Shah how much the senior actor had inspired him. ‘I am glad he didn’t try to become another Naseeruddin Shah, and discovered his own identity,’ Naseer says. ‘He told me, “My mother used to curse you.” So I asked, “Why yaar?” and he said, “Tum uss Naseeruddin Shah ki nakal kar rahe ho. Woh to pahunch gaya, aur tum kahan ho?” So finally when he made it, I said, “Yaar, apni ammi ko mera salaam kehna. And tell her ki main itna bura example nahi tha.”’ ** These images were taken during a press meet at the Bengaluru Press Club in 2015 when he and his wife Sutapa Sikdar (see in the third image) had come to show their support for theatre personality and social activist Prasanna Badanawal Satyagraha and National Convention for sustainable living. | 📸 K. Murali Kumar