Babil on Irrfan Khan: Baba is still here because of the work he did

Mumbai:  Actor Babil Khan reflected on the legacy of his late father, the legendary Irrfan Khan. He said that even though his ‘baba’ is no longer here, he is still here through his powerful performances on screen.

Babil, who appeared as a guest on Bharti Singh and Harssh Limbachiyaa’s podcast, was seen talking about his father and his legacy.

Talking to Harssh and Bharti, Babil said: “The love you had for him, that is very precious. I feel like that. Because you can be a fan, but the thing you had for him, because of that, like me, Ayaan, we feel a responsibility. It’s more than just a fan. And that love, I feel, can make a person immortal.”

“Baba is not here today, but he is still here because of the work he did,” added Babil.

Babil shared that while the world may have seen Irrfan Khan as a larger-than-life figure or even godlike in his talent, to him, he was simply his “Baba”.

“We also think, what is this? I saw him taking a bath. He came out in the towel. He was a great man. The way you see him, I never understood him until he passed away. When he passed away, I was able to detach myself from him. And when I saw him from a distance, when I didn’t see him like Baba, then I understood that I shouldn’t have played FIFA. I should have learned something.”

He recalled how the late acclaimed star came to ask Babil to do “some scene work.”

“But I was playing FIFA. So I said, I’m playing FIFA. I’ll come later. And that day, I regretted it a lot.”

Asked if he watches his father’s films if he gets a film, Babil said: “Yes. But I don’t try to copy them because I’ll get stuck there. There’s already a thing that if he’s his son, or daughter, he’ll work like them. People want that. They want me to do that. To bring them back to life.”

“But if they were there, they’d be very angry with me if I tried to copy them or take their place. Not take, but try to fill. Because they’ve taught me that whoever you are, you have to live up to it.I’m living up to what I am.”

Babil said: “And whatever happens after me, when you live up to yourself, only then will the legacy go ahead. If I try to fill their shoes, who will fill my shoes?”

Irrfan Khan passed away aged 53 in April 2020 after battling neuroendocrine tumor, which he was diagnosed with in 2018.

–IANS