One of India's most eminent film critics engages Bollywood and beyond in conversation about Irrfan Khan’s art, craft, life and legacy.

Irrfan Khan’s passing was foretold. With his death from an incurable cancer, we lost an actor nonpareil.

A spellbinding performer who emerged onto the stage fully formed, Irrfan was also a seeker who kept honing his skills, each new work a revelation, his oeuvre transformative for Hindi cinema. From his National School of Drama days to his nearly decade-long stint in television and ultimately his arrival in the movies, everyone who watched Irrfan knew they were in the presence of someone special. What is it that gave Irrfan, an ‘outsider’ to Bollywood, his distinction? What has been his contribution to cinema? How does one measure his legacy?

Long-time film critic Shubhra Gupta asks these and other probing questions to members of the film community who knew Irrfan, worked with him or observed him closely – his wife Sutapa Sikdar, his dear friend Tigmanshu Dhulia, directors Mira Nair, Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Vishal Bhardwaj and Shyam Benegal, actors Naseeruddin Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma and Tillotama Shome, among several others. As they discuss Irrfan’s films, his craft and his philosophy as an actor, what emerges is a deeply layered, complex and endlessly absorbing portrait of one of Indian cinema’s most influential and enigmatic artistes. Abuzz with a polyphony of perspectives on the actor and Hindi cinema at large, this book is a rich collectible for Irrfan’s admirers and cinephiles alike.