Irrfan Khan’s son Babil fondly remembered him with rare black-and-white photographs from his National School of Drama (NSD) days in the late 1980s. In the first picture, the actor is seen wearing large round-rimmed glasses as he lights up a cigarette. The second and third snapshots are of him on the stage, mid-performance.

“NSD,” Babil wrote in his caption. The post has garnered thousands of likes on Instagram, with fans paying their tributes in the comments section. “Legend forever and ever,” one user wrote. “Lost the jewel of cinema,” another wrote. Several also dropped heart emojis on the post.

Irrfan died on Wednesday (April 29) at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital after a two-year battle with neuroendocrine tumour. He was buried at the Versova kabrastaan in the presence of close friends and family members.

The NSD condoled Irrfan’s demise and said in a statement, “Not only the National School of Drama has lost one of its meritorious members, Irrfan’s demise is a big loss to the Indian art and cinema fraternity.”

On Saturday (May 2), Irrfan’s wife Sutapa Sikdar released a statement on behalf of their two sons Babil and Ayaan, and herself, sharing details of his battle with cancer. “How can I write this as a family statement when the whole world is taking it as a personal loss? How can I begin to feel alone when millions are grieving with us at the moment? I want to assure everyone that this is not a loss, it is a gain. It’s a gain of the things he taught us, and now we shall finally begin to truly implement it and evolve,” the statement said.

“Funnily, our life was a masterclass in acting, so when the dramatic entry of the ‘uninvited guests’ happened, I had by then learnt, to see a harmony in the cacophony. The doctor’s reports were like scripts which I wanted to perfect, so I never miss any detail that he sought for in his performance,” it added.