Actor Irrfan Khan has died at the age of 53. He was one of India’s biggest stars, and found international acclaim for his work.
The star had been battling a rare form of cancer, a neuroendocrine tumour, since 2018. He was admitted to an ICU in Mumbai with a colon infection on Tuesday, and died on Wednesday, a spokesperson confirmed.
“Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him,” said the spokesperson in a statement. “After having been struck by lightning in 2018 with the news of a rare cancer ... he fought the many battles that came with it. Surrounded by his love, his family for whom he most cared about, he left for heaven, leaving behind a legacy of his own.”
He leaves behind his wife, Sutapa Sikdar, and their two sons, Babil and Ayan. Khan first met Sidkar while studying theatre at the National School of Drama in Delhi, and they married in 1995.
Khan was known for his many roles in Indian and Bollywood films: he was a familiar face on screens in India, starting out in the 1980s in smaller roles in TV serials and movies. But the film that really propelled him to lead-actor status was 2012's Paan Singh Tomar.
His biggest films include The Lunchbox, Hindi Medium, Piku and Haider. His last film, Angrezi Medium, came out earlier this year.
Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him
A true crossover star, Khan was one of the most recognised Indian actors to those more familiar with Hollywood movies. He also appeared in Life of Pi, Jurassic World, The Amazing Spider-Man, A Mighty Heart and The Darjeeling Limited.
Tributes are already flooding in for Khan, with filmmaker Shoojit Sircar leading the way. "My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you ... we shall meet again," he wrote on Twitter. "Condolences to Sutapa and Babil ... you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om shanti. Irfaan Khan salute."
American filmmaker Ava DuVernay wrote that she was a "fan" of Khan's: "When he is on screen, you can’t take your eyes off of him. He lives on in his films.”
One of the film roles that most exemplifies his quietly captivating screen presence was 2013 film The Lunchbox:
In 2018, Khan spoke to AP about his ongoing cancer treatment, saying he had learnt a lot from the experience, in his characteristically philosophical way: "You stop your contemplation, you stop your planning, you stop the noise. You see the other aspect of it. It gives you so much. Life offers you so much. That's why I feel like I have no other words but thanks. There are no other words, there's no other demand, there's no other prayer."
Khan was also renowned for his work in Mira Nair’s 2006 film The Namesake, for which he won an Independent Spirit Award. He was due to appear in 2022 American film The Wicked Path, according to his IMDb page, but the film is still in pre-production.
His time in Kerala filming 'Karwaan': one of his last movies
One of the last feature films he starred in was 2018’s South Indian road drama Karwaan. The film’s director, Akarsh Khurana, told The National how happy he was filming in Kerala.
“He loved the state, their culture, the food, the terrain and was very curious about Malayalam cinema," Khurana said. "I think he was in a really happy place while shooting for the film. In fact, his staff came and said that, after Piku, this is the happiest they have seen him on sets.”
Dulquer Salmaan, who also starred in the film, spoke to us about how much solace Khan found in the South Indian landscape: “This road trip and geography was new to him, and he was discovering – so every time we stopped, he would wander off, especially in Mudumalai and Ooty, it was the monsoon season and beautiful."
Salmaan added that Khan, renowned for his down-to-earth nature, would sometimes take boat rides on his own in his free time, and if there were fishermen taking short fishing trips, he would even tag along with them.
As Tom Hanks once famously quipped: "Here's what I hate about Irrfan Khan ... I always think I'm the coolest guy in the room ... and then [he] walks into the room and he's the coolest guy."
We'll leave you with the trailer for Paan Singh Tomar, the 2012 film that is considered one of his greatest roles in Indian cinema:
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T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani