It is fitting that both Bollywood and Hollywood are mourning the loss of the actor Irrfan Khan.
The Indian star had, after all, spent 32 of his too-brief 53 years making films (a significant number of them American, British and European productions), entertaining the world and, most significantly, quietly reviving Bollywood’s atrophied filmmaking muscles.
So it was a tremendous shock when that life was cut short on Wednesday, April 29. Khan died after losing his battle with a rare form of cancer, a neuroendocrine tumour he was diagnosed with in 2018.
He is survived by his wife, television writer and producer Sutapa, sons Babil and Ayan, and through his impressive body of work. American filmmaker Ava DuVernay said it best when she tweeted on Wednesday that "he lives on in his films".
But awkward, wiry, mild-mannered men like Khan weren’t destined to rise to the ranks of Bollywood superstardom. However, thanks to his startling charisma and undeniable ebullience, that is just what happened.
It's tough to pinpoint the exact moment that Bollywood became aware of his considerable talent. Some will swear it was with 2003's Maqbool, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj's critically acclaimed adaptation of Macbeth, in which Khan played the titular role. Others, meanwhile, might claim that Khan's first full-throated taste of success came four years later, with the twin triumphs of director Anurag Basu's Life in a Metro and Mira Nair's The Namesake.
The contrasting nature of those two “breakout” roles is perhaps the most fitting example of the vastness of Khan’s talent.
Life in a Metro's Monty is a brazen, bristling, young homeless man, a world away from The Namesake's dreamy romantic, Ashoke Ganguli. And, yet, both were played to perfection by Khan. For lovers of cinema, Khan's range was joyous to behold.
As the hours roll on and news of his death finally sinks in, loving messages from his heartbroken colleagues, friends and fans flooding the internet, it’s almost as if everything that could have been said about the man has already been said.
And yet, as someone who crossed paths with him for a brief moment in time, the sorrow of his passing feels strangely personal to me. It’s an odd feeling. Can a public figure be personally mourned by someone who can’t even claim to be his friend?
I met Khan four years ago, while interviewing him for The National. His publicist had reserved a 20-minute slot for me at the end of a long line of interviews. It's the best slot to snag — you can squeeze in a few minutes of extra time because there's no one impatiently tapping at the door. It's also the worst slot to be saddled with — actors can be notoriously moody and irritable after half a dozen interviews, and the answers for that journalist often tend to be the most robotic and rehearsed.
I left the little interview room almost three hours after I had entered it, with his number, and a promise that I’d go home and send him a very particular piece of my work he was curious about.
We’d barely spoken about the movie he was supposed to be promoting. Instead, we discussed politics, art, emotions, fidelity, marriage, a tree that he was mesmerised by at the moment, a vacation he had just taken, my love for writing.
At varying times in those three hours, I wondered why this man, this very busy, very important celebrity, gearing up for the release of a significant film, was choosing to spend his time asking me, a woman 20 years his junior, and someone he’d possibly never meet again, about my thoughts on life. I asked him. His answer was simple: “Why does anyone do anything?”
Why, indeed.
I sent him the pieces I’d promised, never expecting to hear from him. Instead, I woke up to a string of messages in the middle of the night — his notes on my writing. What he liked, what he didn’t, what made him introspect. It was all very astonishing, and faintly disorienting. But again, why does anyone do anything?
Our next interaction was after his film's release. I called the script wobbly, the characters underwritten, but his acting flawless. We argued briefly over messages, then fell silent. Four months passed. I released a book, he congratulated me, but declined to make it for the release. I wasn't going to ask why.
Two more years passed. I messaged him to say I was praying for his speedy recovery after he was diagnosed with cancer. He admonished me for not finishing the other book I had been working on. Another two years passed. I learnt of his hospitalisation late at night. I picked up the phone to message him, then decided it was too late. “I’ll do it in the morning,” I rationalised. Now, it truly is too late.
There are many things he said to me in that interview-that-wasn’t-an-interview. I’m not going to cheapen his memory by repeating them. But I’ll say this, one of his favourite lines from his own film was, “We forget things, if we have no one to tell them to.”
I’m writing this because I don't want to forget my astonishing, astounding, at times perplexing, interlude with Irrfan Khan.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The%20specs
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Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
September 30
South Africa v Australia
Argentina v New Zealand
October 7
South Africa v New Zealand
Argentina v Australia
Netherlands v UAE, Twenty20 International series
Saturday, August 3 - First T20i, Amstelveen
Monday, August 5 – Second T20i, Amstelveen
Tuesday, August 6 – Third T20i, Voorburg
Thursday, August 8 – Fourth T20i, Vooryburg
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
UAE%20set%20for%20Scotland%20series
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Results
Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0).
Female 55kg: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Amal Amjahid (BEL); points 4-2.
Female 62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR); 10-2.
Female 70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) bt Alessandra Moss (AUS); submission.
Female 90kg: Gabreili Passanha (BRA) bt Claire-France Thevenon (FRA); submission.
Male 56kg: Hiago George (BRA) bt Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA); 2-2 (2-0)
Male 62kg: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) bt Joao Miyao (BRA); 2-2 (2-1)
Male 69kg: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Isaac Doederlein (USA); 2-2 (2-2) Ref decision.
Male 77kg: Tommy Langarkar (NOR) by Oliver Lovell (GBR); submission.
Male 85kg: Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE); 2-2 (1-1) Ref decision.
Male 94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL); submission.
Male 110kg: Joao Rocha (BRA) bt Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE); submission.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
