Irrfan Khan's Last Rites: Vishal Bhardwaj, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Kapil Sharma Pay Their Respects

Irrfan Khan lost his battle with a rare form of cancer and died in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday. He was 54. Irrfan, one of India's finest and most versatile actors, is survived by his wife Sutapa and his sons Babil and Ayaan.

He was buried at the Versova graveyard. Several celebrities including Vishal Bhardwaj, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Mika Singh and Kapil Sharma attended the last rites of the actor to pay their respects.

It is the second tragedy for the family in less than a week. The Maqbool actor lost his mother, 95-year-old Saeeda Begum, in Jaipur just four days ago and could not attend the funeral because of the nationwide lockdown

Irrfan, that rare artiste who straddled multiple worlds, making his mark in both international and Indian cinema in roles intense and light-hearted, was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital with a colon infection.

News of the death of the actor, who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, a rare form of cancer that attacks various parts of the body, was confirmed by his family in a statement

There was an outpouring of grief from various quarters, including politicians and civil servants as well as his colleagues and his many fans

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Irrfan will be remembered for his versatile performances across different mediums. His demise is a loss to the world of cinema and theatre, Modi wrote on Twitter.

"My thoughts are with his family, friends and admirers. May his soul rest in peace," the prime minister said.

The news of his death was first confirmed by his "Piku" director Shoojit Sircar who sent his condolences to the family and doffed his hat to the actor's fighting spirit

"My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you.. we shall meet again.. condolences to Sutapa and Babil.. you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om shanti. Irfaan Khan salute," the director said on Twitter

On March 5, 2018 that Irrfan revealed that he was suffering from "a rare disease"

In a philosophical note to his fans on Twitter, the actor wrote, "Sometimes you wake up with a jolt with life shaking you up. The last fifteen days, my life has been a suspense story. Little had I known that my search for rare stories would make me find a rare disease. I have never given up and have always fought for my choices and always will," he had said

Ten days later, the actor shared that he had been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour and would go abroad for the treatment

He returned home in 2019 and managed to shoot for "Angrezi Medium", the sequel to his 2017 hit "Hindi Medium" The film, which hit the theatres in March just before the lockdown that began on March 25, turned out to be his last cinematic outing.

Irrfan won best actor National Award for his performance in 2012's biographical drama Paan Singh Tomar.

The actor was honoured with Padma Shri in 2011.