On the fifth anniversary of Irrfan Khan’s passing, his son, actor and artist Babil Khan, didn’t post a long caption, didn’t drop a flashy montage, and didn’t deliver a press-ready eulogy. Instead, he gave the internet a soft gut punch in the form of a poem—and a picture that could warm even the coldest heart.
Shared on Instagram, the photo is pure, unfiltered nostalgia: a young Babil leaning into his father, the late great Irrfan Khan, in what looks like one of those quietly magic moments families often forget to photograph—except, thankfully, someone did. It’s intimate, tender, and stunningly ordinary in a way that makes it unforgettable.
And then there’s the poem. Oh, the poem. "With you, without you. Life goes on, With me, without me. Soon I'll be there. With you, not without you. And we will run together, and fly, Drink from waterfalls, pink not blue. I will hug you so tight, and I will cry, Then we'll laugh, just like we used to. I miss you."
It reads like something pulled from the margins of a dream—equal parts whimsical and heartbreaking, the kind of thing you'd expect to find scribbled in a notebook hidden beneath a pillow. “Drink from waterfalls, pink not blue”? That’s not grief—it’s a fairytale version of longing. The kind only someone raised by an artist like Irrfan could write.
Irrfan Khan, of course, wasn’t just anyone. He was the man who made silence in a scene feel louder than dialogue, who starred in everything from The Lunchbox to Life of Pi, and who could go from Bollywood realism to Hollywood spectacle without losing his soul in transit. His presence was quiet but seismic. His loss? Equally so.
Since his passing on April 29, 2020, after a battle with a neuroendocrine tumor, fans and cinephiles have grieved publicly and privately. But Babil’s tribute cuts deeper—not because of celebrity, but because of simplicity. It’s the poetic equivalent of standing in the rain and letting it wash over you.
While the world continues to celebrate Irrfan for his craft, Babil reminds us of something far more sacred: he was a father first. A dad who created waterfalls in pink and laughs that echo still.
And as for Babil? He’s not just carrying his father’s legacy forward on screen—he’s writing new pages in their story, one poem at a time.