A tragic week

Within 24 hours of each other, two actors who had played pivotal roles in the Indian film industry – or Bollywood – over the last few decades lost their lives. The careers of Rishi Kapoor, 67, who died of cancer, and Irrfan Khan, 53, who died of neuro-endocrine tumours, both in Mumbai, followed very different trajectories. But in different ways, each of them left a mark that will not easily be erased. Their death has thrown Bollywood, India and even Pakistan into genuine grief as tributes and words of praise pour in from around the world. Rishi Kapoor or ‘Chintu’ as he was affectionately known as was one of the sons of the legendary Raj Kapoor and a member of what is the best-known acting family in India, with the talent running through four generations. The late Rishi made his debut in his father’s film Mera Naam Joker, though his first film in which he was cast as the star was the legendary ‘Bobby’. He went on to star in classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony, Kabhi Kabhi, Naseeb and many more. He evolved through his career as an actor and was admired by his peers for his warm-heartedness and his ability to adopt various styles of acting while encouraging those who performed alongside him. In the later years of his life, he also spoke out openly on Indo-Pakistan relations and the need to build bridges between the two countries. To many in Pakistan, remembering Rishi Kapoor comes with a hit of nostalgia. Chintu, in his many different sweaters, holding a dafli or tweeting about South Asian solidarity – he will be missed.

Irrfan Khan was in some ways completely different to Rishi Kapoor. He came without any notable family acting credentials and belonged to a nawab family from Rajasthan. He was careful to reiterate that the ‘nawabiat’ in his family had been lost long before he was born. Irrfan Khan was remarkable for his extraordinary sensitivity and generosity as an actor. His early days as an actor, attempting to find roles on Indian television plays, were a near complete failure; and in his 30s he considered giving up his attempts to gain a hold in the world of acting. But then, fortunes changed, and he landed roles in blockbuster films including Slumdog Millionaire, Jurassic World, Haider, Maqbool, Life of Pi.

However, Irrfan Khan never let go of the one thing that made him stand out among the Khans in Bollywood: his restrained and effortless acting prowess, which shone through in quiet films such as The Lunchbox and Piku. He combined the careful planning of Hollywood with the more slapdash style of Bollywood and created a new vision of film. Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan brought to acting a vision that was entirely their own, informed by both their generations and backgrounds. They truly will live on in the songs, music, and ideas and emotions they evoke through performances.