Actor Irrfan Khan died in Mumbai this morning.
The 53-year-old was admitted to Kokilaben Hospital yesterday after suffering from colon infection.
The heart-breaking news was tweeted by filmmaker Shoojit Sircar. He tweeted, "My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you.. we shall meet again.. condolences to Sutapa and Babil.. you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om Shanti. Irfaan Khan salute."
Born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan in the western desert state of Rajasthan, in a family with no ties to cinema, the actor recalled in interviews that as children, he and his siblings were not allowed to watch movies.
The only exception was when a visiting uncle took them to the theatre.
Khan was among the first Indian actors to make a consistent mark in western cinema, following earlier crossover pioneers like Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth and Om Puri. The actor featured in international blockbusters such as Slumdog Millionaire, Jurassic World, The Amazing Spider-Man and Life of Pi. His most popular films in India include Salaam Bombay!, Maqbool, Paan Singh Tomar, The Lunchbox, Haider, Piku, Talvar and Hindi Medium.
Fans and celebrities took to social media to pay tributes to the actor.
"An incredible talent," said Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, among the tributes on Twitter that followed Khan's death.
T 3516 - .. just getting news of the passing of Irfaan Khan .. this is a most disturbing and sad news .. 🙏
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) April 29, 2020
An incredible talent .. a gracious colleague .. a prolific contributor to the World of Cinema .. left us too soon .. creating a huge vacuum ..
Prayers and duas 🙏
Another well-known director, Karan Johar, said, "Thank you for raising the bar as an artist ... Thank you for enriching our cinema... We will miss you terribly, Irrfan."
A fantastic costar, an actor par excellence ,and a beautiful human being , you are irreplaceable #irrfankhan. @irrfank We lost you too soon! Unbelievable. Om Shanti 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/QdEBiSUegw
— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) April 29, 2020
Nothing can be more heartbreaking and tragic than the news of passing away of a dear friend, one of the finest actors and a wonderful human being #IrrfanKhan. Saddest day!! May his soul rest in peace. #OmShanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/QSm05p7PfU
— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) April 29, 2020
Very sad to hear about Irrfan Khan .
— Sunny Deol (@iamsunnydeol) April 29, 2020
May his work always be remembered and his soul rest in peace 🙏🏽 #IrrfanKhan