New Delhi: When Sutapa Sikdar returned to the jungle she had once visited with her husband, Irrfan Khan after his death, she discovered that a bamboo tree flowers only once before it dies. The sight reminded her of Irrfan, who, she wrote, had blossomed and left behind footprints for others to follow. In a letter to her late husband, published in the book Irrfan, Tumhare Liye Chithhiyan Aayi Hain, Sutapa reflects on their memories and the loss of the actor.
“Come, let us meet in my dreams. I will tell you many stories from this journey through the jungle,” she wrote in the letter titled Kya Ab Bhi Behti Dhaaraon Ka Paani Peete Ho? (Do You Still Drink the Water of Flowing Streams?).
The book is a collection of letters curated by Amir Hamza written to Khan by his co-actors, filmmakers and fellow artists. These include filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, who wrote Aap Hamesha Utkrishtata Ke Maandand Bane Rahoge (You Will Always Remain the Benchmark of Excellence), Tilottama Shome, who penned Kya Aap Ab Ek Aurat Hain, Irrfan? (Are You a Woman Now, Irrfan?), Brijendra Kala, who wrote Aap Daku Kaise Bane? (How Did You Become a Dacoit?), Chandan Roy, who contributed Irrfan, Aap Mere Abhinay Ke Guru Hain (Irrfan, You Are My Guru in Acting) and Yashpal Sharma, who penned Hum Irrfan Ki Adaakari Ka Utsav Manate Rahenge (We Will Continue to Celebrate Irrfan’s Acting).
Actor and dastango Danish Husain has also contributed a letter titled Us Raat Irrfan Ki Aankhein Ruaansi Ho Gayi (That Night, Irrfan’s Eyes Welled Up).
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Letters to Irrfan
Husain begins his letter by reflecting on the importance of correspondence and how people often fail to express what is in their hearts to those they live alongside.
He recalls his first memory of watching the actor who would go on to influence the artist within him. Husain writes that he first noticed Irrfan in a television serial. While he does not remember much about the show, he remembers Khan’s character, who would secretly watch a neighbourhood woman. The character had very few lines.
“But the way you conveyed the inner world of the character through your facial expressions and presented it in close-ups left me astonished,” he wrote.
Husain added that he felt as though the character within him was watching the neighbourhood woman.
“I didn’t know who you were, but one question kept wandering through my mind, Who is this actor?” He wrote and As time passed, Husain became an actor himself and began watching more of Khan’s work.