Published By: Chirag Sehgal
Last Updated: October 28, 2023, 17:54 IST
Babil Khan is set to feature in Netflix series The Railway Men.
Sutapa Sikdar recollected memories from the day when Irrfan Khan’s team arrived to prepare Babil Khan for his shoot.
Irrfan Khan, a beloved figure in the Indian film industry, left an indelible mark with his exceptional acting and charming personality. While his memory lives on, his son, Babil Khan makes sure to respect his legacy and has been following in his father’s footsteps with a promising career. In 2022, Babil made his presence felt with a role in Qala, where he portrayed the character of Jagan Batwal and his other films are also praiseworthy. Recently, Sutapa Sikdar, the wife of the late actor, recollected the memories from first day when Irrfan’s team arrived to prepare Babil for his shoot. The team was seen dressing him in the same clothes his father had worn. While it brought back memories, Sutapa expressed that it was a heartbreaking moment for her.
She said, “The first day when the team, the makeup people and everybody came home and were doing him up and you know the clothes, the same costume, it made me extremely nostalgic, it was heartbreaking, I just couldn’t bear, honestly.”
Irrfan Khan and Sutapa Sikdar’s love story began in 1995 and together, the two welcomed sons, Babil and Ayan. In the same interview, Sutapa opened up about the deep bond she shared with her late husband. Their connection was not like a regular partner, it was more than that, as she revealed that Irrfan’s love for cinema was an integral part of their marriage. They would often discuss his projects in detail and spoke about numerous scenes together.
“We discussed every day, ours was not actually a marriage, it was more of meeting of mind, more of partnership, we were like more friends and we began as friends and we remained friends. There was not a specific point because we used to discuss scripts every day, like any scene, scene he is watching and we watched a lot of films together.”
“We never went to a restaurant and we went to jungles and watched films, that’s all we do all holidays every time. No birthdays, he didn’t like celebrating birthdays, so formally no birthdays were celebrated. It all took a long time for me to settle in because this was very different from my house. Slowly slowly, over the years I started celebrating every day instead of a particular day, so there was not a particular son’s daughter’s day and father’s day. He always thought this is all merchandising,” she recalled.
Irrfan Khan’s exceptional choice of films earned him not only national recognition but also global praise. His performances in movies like Life of Pi, The Namesake, Paan Singh Tomar, Haider, Piku and Maqbool are fan favourites.
Meanwhile, following his appearance in Friday Night Plan, Babil Khan is set to feature in YRF’s four-part Netflix series titled The Railway Men. This series is based on the Bhopal gas tragedy and features a stellar cast including R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, and Divyenndu. The show is scheduled to premiere on November 18.