Irrfan Khan: 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Life of Pi' actor dies

Irrfan Khan, 1967-2020

ASAM NEWS

Irrfan Khan, a veteran Hollywood and Bollywood actor, has died at the age of 53, NBC Chicago reports.

Khan passed away on Wednesday after being admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection. He had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer in 2018 but appeared to recover from it.

Khan was born on Jan. 7 1967, to Saeeda Begum and Yaseen Khan in Rajasthan, India, The New York Times reports. He was one of four children.

In the 1980s, Khan began his career playing small roles on Indian television, according to The New York Times. His film debut came in 1988 with a small role Salaam Bombay!, an Academy Award-nominated film, Rolling Stone reports. He would go on to star in dozens of Bollywood films. I

Khan would make his mark on American cinema in 2007, with his role in the English language Bollywood film The Namesake. In 2008, he played a police detective in Slumdog Millionaire. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He would go on to star in films like Life of Pi, The Amazing Spiderman, Jurassic World and Inferno, the sequel to The DaVinci Code.

Actors and world leaders have taken to social media to honor Khan’s life and work.

Mindy Kaling, one of Hollywood’s most prolific Indian American entertainers, called Khan her “favorite actor” and praised the “subtlety and sensitivity” in his performances.

“Irrfan Khan’s demise is a loss to the world of cinema and theatre,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a tweet. “He will be remembered for his versatile performances across different mediums. My thoughts are with his family, friends and admirers. May his soul rest in peace.”

Khan is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikdar and their two sons.

TGIF Feature: If Bollywood songs were rap, Lilly Singh would be rappin'

YOUTUBE

Lilly Singh in a traditional Indian dress and jewelry -- is back!

It was just a few months ago when YouTube star Lilly Singh explained to her fans that she needed time off from vlogging and her channel for "mental health" reasons.
It seems a mental health break is not necessarily a work break. Rather than disappearing from the public eye, she evidently kept herself busy.

Besides being named a late night talk show host taking the place of Carson Daley, the comedian wrote the lyrics for this fantastic video.

With the YouTube video, she wrote: 

"I love Bollywood and I love rap music. So I decided to let my worlds collide by turning some of my favourite songs into rap songs! And while I was at it, I thought, why not make them little motivational anthems that speak to causes close to my heart? I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them! I can’t wait to perform these at #YTFF on Saturday in Mumbai!"

The response from her fans has been overwhelmingly favorable.

Enjoy!

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Zayn Malik covers Bollywood song in Hindi to the delight of his fans

ZAYN MALIK

FORMER "ONE DIRECTION" singer Zayn Malik posted a video of him singing a Hindi song and his fans are going wild over it.

Since he posted the cover of a Hindi song "Allah Duhai Hai", from Salman Khan’s last Bollywood movie, Race 3., it has over 3 million hits.

Despite not understanding the lyrics, a lot of his international fans are showing love for Zayn’s latest offering.

One user commented, “Wow dude, you've really smashed it your vocals sound fantastic! This is proof music is a universal language, we don't have to understand lyrics or to even have lyrics, the music can convey emotion & with a vocal too this also comes out in your voice! Congrats dude it's awesome!.”

And here is Zayn's post. Listen for yourself:

Aside from some picky criticism about his British accent, his fans -- whether or not they understood the lyrics - are generally praising his acknowldgement of his Pakistani roots and singing in a language other than English, the language he grew up with in Great Britain.

This is not the first time that the singer has done a cover for a Hindi song. Although his roots originate from the Pakistani culture, he had also done covers of Hindi songs, 'Allah ke Bande' and Kailash Kher's 'Teri Deewani.'

Malik hasn't shyed away from being raised as a Muslim. But, as someone the Evening Standard identifies as "the most high-profile British Muslim in the entertainment industry," Zayn said he's proud of his faith.

“I take a great sense of pride — and responsibility — in knowing that I am the first of my kind, from my background,” he said. “I’m not currently practising but I was raised in the Islamic faith, so it will always be with me, and I identify a lot with the culture. But I’m just me. I don’t want to be defined by my religion or my cultural background.”
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