Exclusive: After losing his mother, he became more weak and emotional, says Irrfan Khan's 'Shrikant' co-star Mrinal Kulkarni

Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan passed away at the age of 53. He breathed his last in a private hospital in Mumbai battling colon infection on April 29. The actor began his career with Television before making his mark in Bollywood and doing meaty roles in Hollywood as well. Irrfan's first-ever co-star from the TV series ‘Shrikant’ and Marathi TV show Me Honaar Superstar judge Mrinal Kulkarni recalls memories with him. She spoke about their shows, off-screen bonding and much more. (PC -Instagram) Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar

Talking about the TV show ‘Shrikant’ with Irrfan Khan, Mrinal said, “ It was my first ever TV show and it was the same for him. I had so much pressure at that time. Irrfan Khan and Farooq Shaikh were working opposite me and I was the lead actress. After that, we worked together in the show called Sparsh. We were really good friends. I still remember our first scene together, when he had to hit me with a hunter. I literally got scared by his looks and personality. Also, he used to speak very less. I didn’t know that we would ever become friends. After that, we worked together a lot and we became best friends”. (PC -Instagram)

When asked about what are the things which made them best friends, Mrinal said, “First of all, we were new to the industry. We started knowing each other after that. He was trying his best to prove himself in the industry and I was doing the same after doing the play Swami. Farooq Sheikh was a popular celebrity at that time and we were freshers compared to him. Irrfan had a good command of Urdu and Hindi language, so he used to share tips with me. I would ask him constantly about my shots, scenes and lines and he would solve my confusion. He helped me a lot.” (PC -Instagram)

After learning about Irrfan Khan’s cancer, Mrinal said, "I am working with NGOs which works for cancer patients and then I got to know about Irrfan's medical condition. He became emotional after losing his mom." (PC -Instagram)

After learning about Irrfan Khan’s cancer, Mrinal said, “The thing is I am working with the Cancer organizations for the last few years and then I got to know about Irrfan. We were connected to each other when he was a cancer survivor but his cancer was of a rare type and even after being a strong willed person he couldn’t win the battle. Sometimes, there is nothing in our hands and that is true." (PC -Instagram)

Mrinal Kulkarni further said, “Actually I knew he was not well and it was a tough fight. After losing his mother, he became more weak and emotional. I somewhere felt that there were tough times ahead for him." (PC -Instagram) Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar