In his last-ever interaction with IANS, Irrfan Khan had expressed his wish to cherish life more, saying that health would be his top priority once he recuperated.

Irrfan told us that while recovering, he was not restless about getting back to work, but about getting fit and fine.

"Work was never my anxiety. I'm restless to be fine, to be comfortable with myself," Irrfan had said.

The actor had been ailing ever since he was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, and had been under medical attention for the same. Irrfan said battling the disease had brought a new meaning to life. There is something almost sadly prophetic in his analysis of the situation.

"Unnecessary worry vanished. We miss out on life thinking, ‘let this happen and then I will enjoy'. But that never comes if you don't enjoy now," Irrfan had said.

The actor was still under treatment when he returned to the acting world with "Angrezi Medium", a follow-up to his 2017 hit, "Hindi Medium". He was away from the big screen since the release of "Karwaan" in 2018 -- the year he was diagnosed with the ailment.

Irrfan's final film, incidentally, has also been Bollywood's last film to release in theatres for now, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a total lockdown of the nation. In "Angrezi Medium", he played a smalltown father who will go to any extent to fulfil his daughter's dream of a foreign education, so much so that he lands in a hilarious mess.

What did the film mean to him? "(It was about) Connecting back to reality, (about) Being a father. (It was about) The pleasure of letting go," he had replied.

He left us with a brilliant punchline when we asked if he wanted to take it slow professionally, now that he was returning to the studios despite his illness.

"Life first!" he replied with gusto.

We will miss that verve, on the screen and off it.