‘My Father was Defeated at the Box Office’, Irrfan Khan’s Son Babil Writes a Hard-Hitting Note; Says Sushant’s Demise is Manifesting Positive Change

Actor Irrfan Khan was battling with neuroendocrine tumour for two long years and breathed his last on April 29, 2020. His loss comes as a huge loss to the Bollywood industry as Irrfan was one of the finest talents of the industry.

An actor par excellence, Irrfan delivered a versatile bunch of performances that were critically acclaimed but failed to make big numbers at the box office. Bollywood has been synonymous to good looking actors, item songs and dramatic dialogues. The side of profound acting has somewhere weighed down by the glamour and dazzle of the showbiz.

Reacting to the same, Irrfan’s son Babil Khan has penned a heart hitting note that sheds light on the reality of Bollywood and it’s work culture. He began by mentioning the lesson his late father gave him before he went to film school:

You know one of the most important things my father taught me as a student of cinema? Before I went to film school, he warned me that I’ll have to prove my self as Bollywood is seldom respected in world cinema and at these moments I must inform about the indian cinema that’s beyond our controlled Bollywood. Unfortunately, it did happen. Bollywood was not respected, no awareness of 60’s - 90’s Indian cinema or credibility of opinion. There was literally one single lecture in the world cinema segment about indian cinema called ‘Bollywood and Beyond’, that too gone through in a class full of chuckles. it was tough to even get a sensible conversation about the real Indian cinema of Satyajit Ray and K.Asif going.

Babil mentions how despite an impeccable actor, Irrfan was defeated at the box office. He writes:

You know why that is? Because we, as the Indian audience, refused to evolve. My father gave his life trying to elevate the art of acting in the adverse conditions of noughties Bollywood and alas, for almost all of his journey, was defeated in the box office by hunks with six pack abs delivering theatrical one-liners and defying the laws of physics and reality, photoshopped item songs, just blatant sexism and same-old conventional representations of patriarchy (and you must understand, to be defeated at the box office means that majority of the investment in Bollywood would be going to the winners, engulfing us in a vicious circle). 

He adds: “Because we as an audience wanted that, we enjoyed it, all we sought was entertainment and safety of thought, so afraid to have our delicate illusion of reality shattered, so unaccepting of any shift in perception. All effort to explore the potential of cinema and its implications on humanity and existentialism was at best kept by the sidelines.”

Further, Babil asserts that there is a change as he writes:

“Now there is a change, a new fragrance in the wind. A new youth, searching for a new meaning. We must stand our ground, not let this thirst for a deeper meaning be repressed again. A strange feeling beset when Kalki was trolled for looking like a boy when she cut her hair short, that is pure abolishment of potential.”

To conclude, Babil mentions that while Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely demise has embroiled a number of conspiracies, it is also hopeful to bring about a positive change. 

“(Although I resent that Sushant’s demise has now become a fluster of political debates, but if a positive change is manifesting, in the way of the Taoist, we embrace it.” he concluded.

Babil shared some pictures with his late father Irrfan Khan alongside the post. Check it out below: