A tribute to Irrfan

Dear Irrfan,

It took me a while to pen this down amid the outpouring of emotions over the last few days. But as they say, drops of water make an ocean. And by now, wherever you are, I am sure you have noticed that this ocean swells in the maelstrom of your passing. It is tormented in blunt rage and overpowered by gushing grief, caught unawares and numb.

Irrfan, sadness crushes us all eventually, and differently. In this era of hoax messages, our first thoughts embraced denial in a blink, bound by smattering hope that somehow this was just another cheap publicity amidst a pandemic. But those clouds never had a silver lining that the silver screen could benefit from. It had seen the last of you.

Sure, there aren’t any retakes in life and we have to accept you as a part of the past. But humans, you see, cling on to hope. We love a little smile, now and then, to survive. Since your life has always been about films, we will keep you alive in our rewinds.

Many have proclaimed yours to be a personal loss. Having seen you step into the shoes of life-like characters with effortless ease, you had virtually become a neighbour. People have loved you because you changed hero-worship forever. In the razzmatazz of your world, the one who said nothing yet said so much was bound to be different.

I won’t say much about the films because there’s hardly a lot left to say. Only that, we were so impressed that we kept hankering for more. Thank you for showing the world that broad-mindedness, humility and humanity never went out of favour.

It is often said that we find a way (often unique) for people we know to remember us. You would live on like a lump in our throats that sometimes threatens to break apart but then silently settles down to assure that it’s okay.

I am sure no one could ever complain. After all, such was the range of emotions you portrayed; in films, life and death alike.

Irrfan, tum jiyoge haazaron saal, dil me.

Love,
A drop in your ocean