Seasoned actor Naseeruddin Shah shared a close friendship with late actor Irrfan Khan which extended over both personal and professional spheres. They had worked together in films like 'Maqbool' and '7 Khoon Maaf' and Naseer also corresponded with Irrfan during his time of illness. In a recent conversation with The Indian Express, Naseeruddin Shah talked about Irrfan Khan in his final days and he shared that Irrfan could see his death approaching two years prior to his demise.

"That was a unique thing because Irrfan knew for about two years that it was going to happen. I spoke to him several times over the phone even when he was in the hospital in London. It was amazing and it was a real lesson how he dealt with it. He would say: ‘I am observing death approaching me and how many people get that opportunity? To be able to see this grim reaper coming towards you and you are almost welcoming him'. Of course, it was a terrible loss. But it was not in our hands. It was just your bodily machinery shutting down. You don’t have any control over it," said the actor.

Shah then went on to share his outlook on death. He said, "I think that death is the most unimportant part of life and ironically also the most unavoidable one as well. I don’t dwell on it at all. I will go when I have to go. As long as I am around I want to be as alert and as alive as possible. I would not like my friends to be lamenting about me when I am gone but celebrating and laughing and talking about the things I did. I would rather they remember me for the life I have lived than talk about how I died."

Irrfan Khan passed away in April 2020 after a long battle with cancer.