“Actors like Irrfan Khan are irreplaceable”: Shiva Kandukuri remembers his favourite films of Bollywood’s trailblazer

Prominent actor of Indian cinema, Irrfan Khan breathed his last on Wednesday morning. The 54-year-old thespian was rushed to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Tuesday, where he was taking treatment for colon infection. He was buried at the Versova kabrastan this afternoon amid the presence of family, close relatives and friends. Irrfan is survived by his wife Sutapa and sons – Babil and Ayan.

Meanwhile, the entire film fraternity of the country took to social media and paid rich tributes to the great thespian. While Amitabh Bachchan hailed Irrfan as an incredible talent, a gracious colleague and a prolific contributor to world cinema, Shah Rukh Khan called him as the ‘Greatest Actor of Our Times’.

Young Telugu actor Shiva Kandukuri spoke to E Times and stated that the sudden demise of Irrfan Khan will leave a huge void in Indian cinema. “Legendary actors like Irrfan sir are irreplaceable. He’s truly an inspiration in terms of his versatility and impeccable acting prowess. A lot of his characters have been etched in our minds and that’s the power of a true actor,” says Shiva.

Opening up on his favourite films of Irrfan Khan, the engineer-turned-actor said “The Namesake,

The Lunch Box

,

Piku

and Talvar are my all-time best films of Irrfan sir.”

Son of ‘Pelli Choopulu’ producer Raj Kandukuri, Shiva made his protagonist debut with the recently released ‘

Choosi Choodangaane

’. Starring Varsha Bollamma and Malavika Satheesan as the leading ladies, the romantic drama directed by debutante Sesha Sindhu bagged decent reviews at the box-office. An ardent fan of Chiranjeevi, Shiva will be playing a cricketer in his next film. Directed by Srujana Rao with music by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja, the sports-based project will feature Shriya Saran in a pivotal role.