Amitabh Bachchan turned emotional remembering the tragic deaths of Sushant Singh Rajput, Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan on his quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati. Bachchan had shared screen space with Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor. His reference to Sushant’s death came amidst Republic TV founder Arnab Goswami running a sustained campaign to establish that the Kedarnath actor was murdered. His coverage drew sharp reactions from the Bombay High Court on Wednesday.
The Bollywood megastar was asking one of his contestants a question on Angrezi Medium. The question read, “Whose last film in a leading role was Angrezi Medium?” The options were Rishi Kapoor, Sridevi, Irrfan Khan and Girish Karnad. The contestant from Gujarat, a teacher, correctly answered in favour of Irrfan Khan.
Bachchan explained, “Angrezi Medium was directed by Homi Adjania. Irrfan Khan, Radhika Madan and Deepak Dobriyal were seen in leading roles in this film. The film was released on 13 March and, unfortunately, Irrfan sahab passed away on 29 March. He was an extraordinary artist. Our film industry had to lose a hugely talented artist.”
Bachchan then went on to add how the year 2020 had seen the tragic deaths of many talented artists. He said, “Rishi Kapoor ji, Sushant Singh Rajput. It hurts when it happens.”
Amitabh Bachchan had acted opposite Irrfan Khan in Piku, which also featured Deepika Padukone. Incidentally, Deepika too had to bear the brunt of Arnab Goswami’s adverse coverage, forcing her to depose before the Narcotics Control Bureau.
Irrfan was diagnosed with high-grade NeuroEndocrine cancer in 2018. He had travelled to London for the treatment and returned home last year. After his return to Mumbai, the popular actor had penned an emotional note to his fans, stating that he wanted to ‘pause to be grateful’ for the ‘immense love and support’ that he received from them. He died on 29 April soon after being hospitalised in a Mumbai hospital as he developed colon infection.
A day later, Rishi Kapoor too died leaving everyone in Bollywood stunned. Reacting to the tragic death of Rishi Kapoor, Bachchan had earlier tweeted, “He’s GONE .. ! Rishi Kapoor .. gone .. just passed away ..I am destroyed !” Rishi Kapoor had died on 30 April after battling leukaemia for two years.
Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor were last seen together in film 102 Not Out playing the character of the latter’s father. 77-year-old Bachchan had earlier appeared alongside Rishi Kapoor in films such as Kabhi Kabhie and Amar Akbar Anthony among others.
