Amid the glitz and glamour of the 74th British Academy of Films and Television Awards (BAFTA), fans were left emotional watching the In Memoriam segment when Indian icons Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor were paid tribute. The actors died last year in April.
Sharing screen grabs from the presentation ceremony, fans took to social media expressing their grief and pride at the actors’ being honoured at the prestigious awards night. A fan named Bhushan tweeted late night, “My heart when seeing Irrfan and Rishi Kapoor is the memoriam segment 💔 #BAFTA,†while another one sharing a clip from The Lunchbox added, “And *so* saddened to see that wonderful actor Irrfan Khan died this year. He was terrific in The Lunchbox a few years ago. Wonderful actor.†A lot of international fans even showed surprise at the passing away of the actors.
#IrrfanKhan & #RishiKapoor among the #BAFTA “In Memoriam†tributes – their work appreciated from Indian film screens to a much wider 🎥 audience #BAFTAs #film pic.twitter.com/lFup2QBmWD
— Tejinder Kaur (@TejinderITV) April 11, 2021
The video  played at the awards night on Sunday started with a tribute to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Irrfan Khan’s mention was played along with a dialogue from his Hollywood film Life of Pi. The actor died in Mumbai on April 29, after battling neuroendocrine tumour for two years. Yesteryear superstar Rishi Kapoor died a day later, also of cancer at the age of 67.
BAFTA also posthumously honoured George Segal, Sean Connery, Yaphet Kotto, Barbara Windsor, Olivia de Havilland, Alan Parker, Max von Sydow, Kirk Douglas, Christopher Plummer and Chadwick Boseman.
The awards night hosted at London’s Royal Albert Hall included Bollywood star and now global icon Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Hugh Grant and Tom Hiddleston, among others, as presenters. However, given the pandemic, recipients accepted their honours remotely and were connected virtually.