Villagers pay tribute to Irrfan Khan by naming locality after him: ‘He was a guardian angel to so many families’

Villagers in Maharashtra’s Igatpuri have decided to pay a tribute to late actor Irrfan Khan. They have renamed the area where his farmhouse stands to Hero-chi-Wadi (neighbourhood of a hero in Marathi).

According to a report in India Today, the villagers were grateful for all that Irrfan had done for them. The actor gifted the villagers an ambulance, computers, books, raincoats, sweaters for their kids and would also send sweets on festivals.

“He was a guardian angel to so many families. He never said no whenever anyone asked for help,” Gorakh Bodke, a member of the Zilla Parishad told the website. Irrfan bought his house in Igatpuri a decade ago when the met the locals and decided to help them.

Irrfan Khan, who was hospitalised with colon infection, breathed his last in Mumbai on April 29. He was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour two years ago. In a note to his fans after his death, his family wrote the actor never liked the idea of “one dimensional reality” and that gives them hope to take his death not as a loss but a gain “of the things he taught us” and try to see rhythm in everything.

The best way to celebrate Irrfan’s life, his wife Sutapa Sikdar, said would be to implement those teachings and evolve and that’s what she and their two sons -- Babil and Ayaan -- plan to do.

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Irrfan was one of India’s finest and most versatile actors. Acknowledging the outpouring of grief from the actor’s fans everywhere, Sutapa said she cannot “begin to feel alone” when millions were grieving with her. “I want to assure everyone that this is not a loss, it is a gain. It’s a gain of the things he taught us, and now we shall finally begin to truly implement it and evolve.” She said even though it is hard to come to terms with Irrfan’s absence, he taught her to not settle for “ordinary in anything”.

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