BAFTA 2021: Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan among late artists who were paid tribute at the award ceremony

The 74th British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards held in the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night paid tribute to the late Indian actors Rishi Kapoor and Irrfan Khan.

BAFTA paid homage to late artists that the World Cinema lost last year. The tribute, in the form of a video clip, paid homage to over 40 artists including actors, writers, directors, and technicians.

The video was played at the awards night on Sunday.  It started with a tribute to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who passed away in London on April 9, 2021.

In the tribute video, Irrfan Khan’s name was accompanied by a dialogue from his 2012 Hollywood film “Life of Pi”. Irrfan Khan passed away in Mumbai on April 29, 2020, at the age of 53. He had been battling neuroendocrine tumours for two years. Rishi Kapoor, one of the most celebrated actors in the Indian film industry passed away a day later at the age of 67. He was also ailing from cancer.

Sean Connery, George Segal, Kirk Douglas, Chadwick Boseman, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, Olivia de Havilland, Alan Parker, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, and Barbara Windsor were some of the other artists who were included in the video. The video ended with a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the star of the film “Black Panther.”

BAFTAs awards are British equivalent to Oscars. BAFTA honours the best in national and international cinema.