The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne’s 2020 edition will pay tributes to Sushant Singh Rajput, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor

Late actors Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor and Sushant Singh Rajput will be honoured at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. As a part of IFFM’s tribute section, the festival will be screening Irrfan’s Song of Scorpion, Rishi’s 102 Not Out and Sushant’s Kedarnath this year.

In a statement, festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange, said, “Artistes live on through their legacy. These were some fine men who did some incredible movies that resonated with everyone. It was important for us to celebrate their memory. We handpicked some great films for our audience so that we relive a few their lives with them. Their loss to the film industry is irrevocable but the magic of their movies will continue to entertain generations hereafter.” 

Rishi’s 102 Not Out also starred Amitabh Bachchan as his father. Sushant’s Kedarnath was directed by Abhishek Kapoor and marked the debut of Sara Ali Khan. Song of Scorpion saw Irrfan reunite with his Qissa director Anup Singh and also starred Golshifteh Farahani.

Irrfan died on April 29 after a two-year battle with neuroendocrine tumour. Rishi died a day later on April 30 after battling cancer for a year. Sushant died by suicide on June 14. 

Irrfan was also paid a tribute by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts recently in their special video on hope. A scene featuring Irrfan from Ang Lee film The Life of Pi saw him talking about life and death. On his death, the Academy wrote in a tweet, “A mainstay of Bollywood cinema and incredible talent in films like Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and The Namesake, Irrfan Khan left his imprint on global cinema. An inspiration to millions, he will be greatly missed.” 

The Golden Globes wrote, “Sad news: Actor IRRFAN KHAN passed away yesterday at the age of 53 in Mumbai, India. He had been hospitalized the day before with a colon infection. Irrfan Khan was best known to international audiences for his roles in films like Life of Pi, The Lunchbox, Puzzle, Jurassic World and the Golden Globe® winning Slumdog Millionaire. He first appeared on the big screen in the Golden Globe® nominated film Salaam Bombay. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends at this difficult time. May he rest in peace.” 

Irrfan’s last film was Angrezi Medium which released earlier this year but received lukewarm reaction due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rishi was last seen in The Body with Emraan Hashmi and Sushant’s last film Dil Bechara released posthumously on Disney+ Hotstar in July to great fan reaction.