Acclaimed Indian actor Irrfan Khan, whose international movie career included hits such as Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and The Amazing Spider-Man, has died aged 53, his publicist said.
Khan, who was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, died on Wednesday after he was admitted in a Mumbai hospital for colon infection. He was 53.
"Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him," his publicist said in a statement.
Born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan in the Indian desert state of Rajasthan on January 7, 1967, Khan discovered an early passion for acting and studied at the elite National School of Drama.
But his training in Shakespeare and Chekhov did little to ease his entry into the Hindi film industry, which was largely focused at the time on churning out formulaic song-and-dance blockbusters.
"Irrfan Khan’s demise is a loss to the world of cinema and theatre. He will be remembered for his versatile performances across different mediums. My thoughts are with his family, friends and admirers. May his soul rest in peace." tweeted Prime Minister Modi.
The tall and lanky actor won India's national award for his performance in Paan Singh Tomar. He was also awarded with Padma Shri, one of the country's highest civilian honours.
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.
He featured in several award-winning international films such as The Warrior, Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi. In Hollywood, he worked in The Amazing Spider-Man, Inferno and Jurassic World, The Tokyo Trial (Netflix).
He consciously sidestepped traditional Bollywood tropes, focusing on the subtleties of his craft.
This allowed him to carve out a stellar career in Hollywood as well, where he collaborated with Oscar-winning directors such as Danny Boyle and Ang Lee and appeared in the HBO show In Treatment.
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