{"id":2744,"date":"2016-05-31T20:46:20","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T15:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2744"},"modified":"2016-05-31T20:46:20","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T15:16:20","slug":"irrfan-khan-made-us-a-part-of-his-grief-its-his-boldest-role-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=2744","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday, Irrfan Khan. We’ve Missed You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

F<\/span><\/p><\/div>

or many, 2018 has been a year of mourning. The list of giants who have fallen includes fashion designer Kate Spade, the granddaddy of comic book heroes, Stan Lee, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, Swedish DJ Avicii, the legendary Burt Reynolds, and the patron saint of foodies, Anthony <\/span>Bourdain<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>\n\nWe also received another reminder this year that our heroes are only mere mortals: one of the country\u2019s most treasured thespians, Irrfan Khan, was diagnosed with a rare form of neuroendocrine <\/span>cancer<\/span><\/a> in February, and spoke about his illness for the first time to <\/span>The Times of India<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\n\nOf course, he made the expected remarks about enjoying each moment, and appreciating people\u2019s prayers \u2013 the same truisms we\u2019ve heard from several celebrities, from Selena Gomez to <\/span>Yuvi<\/span><\/a>, after they\u2019ve emerged from a health crisis. But Khan also went a step further, sharing his experiences with the same unique honesty he brings to the screen.<\/span>\n\nNo matter how obsessed we are with them, the real life of a celebrity is still private property on which fans can\u2019t trespass. Meeting a favourite actor or athlete is a Facebook-worthy milestone for us civilians, but for the objects of our admiration, it\u2019s a matter of course. Perhaps that\u2019s why we\u2019re so often shocked by a <\/span>celebrity death<\/span><\/a>: whether it\u2019s that Bourdain and Spade quietly suffered from depression, or that Elvis died on the toilet, we\u2019re bound to learn something we never expected about people that we, at least on some level, thought we knew.<\/span>\n\nThose who live in the <\/span>public eye<\/span><\/a> need protection against becoming public property. But Khan detailed his experiences before they could become fodder for gossip columns and Twitter brawls. He spoke of the crushing day-to-day pain, familiar to all those who have seen cancer at work. He talked about the chaotic universe, and the unpredictable nature of the future. He told us about the bittersweet thrill of seeing his childhood Mecca, Lord\u2019s Stadium, from his London hospital window. By showing his view to those who are always looking in from the outside, Irrfan welcomed us in with an embrace.<\/span>\n\nPerhaps this is how, despite never being a blockbuster <\/span>Bollywood<\/span><\/a> star, Irrfan has appealed to cinemagoers across the country, young or old, male or female, urban or rural. He allowed us a glimpse at a man reclaiming life in <\/span>The Lunchbox<\/span><\/i>. He wove us an enigma through <\/span>The Life of Pi<\/span><\/i>, and brought us along to ride with <\/span>Piku<\/span><\/i>. Now, in his ultimate act of generosity, he\u2019s given us all the chance to celebrate him in life, while we can still bid him a heartfelt adieu. <\/span>\n\nIn <\/span>The Telegraph<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Alex Proud argues that \u201csocial grieving\u201d, or the act of mourning a public figure on social media, is a form of political correctness, a show of compassion that is primarily <\/span>performative<\/span><\/a>. We\u2019ve come to expect the outpouring of grief that comes with every celebrity tragedy, and there\u2019s the one-upmanship of people trying to claim the #1 Fan trophy, or the Guinness World Record for Most Tissues Used in a Week. But if misery really loves company, social grieving is a natural impulse to connect with those who feel the pain of losing a figure in their life and a voice in their head. It\u2019s the digital substitute for attending a wake or writing an obituary.<\/span>\n\nFor a man like Irrfan, who has always marched to the beat of his own drum, telling his own <\/span>story<\/span><\/a> might be his boldest role yet. After all, being dead is like being on trial, with your life laid out to be picked apart by strangers, judged as good, bad, or ugly when it\u2019s actually somewhere in between. No wonder he wanted to share his truth before we made one up for him, leaving him with a legacy that, however glittering, would not represent him.<\/span>\n\n

By showing his view to those who are always looking in from the outside, Irrfan welcomed us in with an embrace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nOr maybe he just wanted to reassure the hundreds who would gather in social grieving, who commented on his <\/span>ToI<\/span><\/i> interview, who pleaded with him on behalf of their own loved ones to fight, and entreated him to <\/span>hope<\/span><\/a> for survival, that, whether the rumours of him returning to films are true or not, he\u2019ll be just fine in the end. As usual, everyone else can take their time coming to terms with Irrfan Khan. His terms are crystal clear.<\/span>\n\nAnd suddenly someone taps on my shoulder and I turn to see. It\u2019s the TC: \u201cYour destination is about to come. Please get down.\u201d I am confused: \u201cNo, no. My destination hasn\u2019t come.\u201d \u201cNo, this is it. This is how it is sometimes.\u201d<\/span><\/i> – Irrfan Khan.<\/span><\/i>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For a man like Irrfan Khan, who has always marched to the beat of his own drum, narrating his story of fighting cancer might be his boldest role yet. By sharing the truth of his struggle with his fans and followers, he has displayed a rare kind of generosity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"featured_media":2745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3114],"tags":[5549,5550,2431,141,1324,5551,5552,5553,2438,1787,5434,2869,5554,5555,5556,2872,4939,5557,5558,5559,5560],"class_list":["post-2744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bollywood","tag-anthony-bourdain","tag-aretha-franklin","tag-birthday","tag-bollywood","tag-cancer","tag-celebrity-death","tag-celebrity-illness","tag-hindies","tag-indian-cinema","tag-irrfan-khan","tag-jurassic-world","tag-karwaan","tag-kate-spade","tag-life-of-pi","tag-mac-miller","tag-piku","tag-selena-gomez","tag-social-grieving","tag-terminal","tag-the-lunchbox","tag-tumour"],"yoast_head":"\nHappy Birthday, Irrfan Khan. 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