Veteran Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, who rose to international acclaim with roles in such films as “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Life of Pi,” has died at the age of 54.
A spokesman said Khan died Wednesday in a Mumbai hospital where he had been admitted earlier this week for a colon infection. Khan sought treatment in Britain after he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2018.
The native of India’s western desert state of Rajasthan broke into the Indian film industry in 1988 in the Academy Award-nominated drama “Salaam Bombay.” Khan went on to star in a number of notable Bollywood films, including “The Namesake” “The Lunchbox” and “Paan Singh Tomar,” which earned him India’s National Film Award for best actor in 2012.
In addition to “Slumdog Millionaire,” which won the 2008 Acadamy Award for Best Picture, Khan appeared in such Hollywood films as “The Amazing Spider Man,” “Jurassic World” and “Inferno.”
His most recent role was the Bollywood film “Angraezi Medium,” a sequel to his hit 2017 film “Hindi Medium.” The new movie was released before India was placed under a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
