File Photo: Irrfan Khan, actor of director Ang Lee's film Life of Pi, answers questions during a press conference in Media Center of the 43rd International Film Festival of India in Panaji, capital city of coastal Goa State, India, Nov. 21, 2012. (Xinhua/Li Yigang)
Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, who had starred in "Hindi Medium" and the Academy Award-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire", passed away in Mumbai hospital Wednesday after battling cancer for about two years.
Diagnosed with cancer in the year 2018, the actor had also undergone medical treatment in London last year, before returning to India to complete the sequel of his "Hindi Medium" film "Angrezi (English) Medium" that was released last month.
Social media was flooded with wishes and condolences after the news came out on Wednesday morning.
Shoojit Sarkar, director of the film Piku in his tweet said, "My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you."
Making his screen debut with Academy Award-nominated film "Salaam Bombay!" in 1988, Irrfan's highest-grossing Hindi film was the critically acclaimed comedy-drama "Hindi Medium" released in 2017, which became a sleeper hit in India and China.
In April 2018, the film "Hindi Medium" released in China grossed 3.1 million U.S. dollars on its opening day and mopped up 14 million U.S. dollars in the first three days of the release in the East Asian country.
In a film career spanning three decades, Irrfan featured in over 50 Hindi films and was recognized with National Film Award for biographical sports drama "Paan Singh Tomar" in 2011, as also with India's fourth-highest civilian honor --Padma Shri for his contribution to films. His other successful films were "The Lunchbox" in 2013 and "Piku" in 2015 among several others.
