'WE HAD A TOM AND JERRY RELATIONSHIP'

'I believed that no matter what happened, I would be there to take care of him.' 'He believed it too and even when he fell ill, he had total faith in me, ki main sab theek kar doongi.' 'I tried, I really tried, but I fell short and he went away.'

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On Irrfan’s fourth death anniversary on April 29, his wife Sutapa Sikdar said she can still feel his presence.

There are so many stories from the late actor’s life that still need to be said.

“We would have heated fights because he thought I was too hyper. He would say, ‘Sutapa, why can’t you control your voice?’ And I would retort, ‘Why can’t you control your smoking?’

There is a scene in The Namesake in which holding his young son’s hand, Irrfan’s Ashoke Ganguli walks down a long path at the end of which there is nothing but the ocean, and, as he says later, nowhere left to go.

Realising that he has forgotten to bring his camera, Ashoke tells Gogol he will now have to carry the picture in his head...

It’s strange that we hardly clicked any pictures either.

We had a video camera, but even those were not digitised. That’s why today when I am asked for photographs, I hardly have any.

So do you carry pictures of moments with him in your head like Gogol?

Yes, I do and the moment which really lives on in my mind is one we didn’t click. I clearly remember standing with him on the terrace of our house in Jaipur.

I was uncomfortable because it was so hot.

Noticing this, Irrfan told me that I would have to to find a way to beat the oppressive heat without relying on air-conditioners.

Stripping off his shorts, he said, ‘Thodi der kaadi raho, body ko aadat padh jayegi. (Just stand for a while, the body will get accustomed to the heat).’

Then, as he calmly stood beside me, bare bodied, it suddenly became cloudy.

He smiled. Within half an hour, it started to rain. (Beaming) That was my Kodak moment.

Wow! (Smiles) Irrfan always had a connection with rain.