Welcome back, Irrfan Khan. How we missed you!

Twitter is usually not the place one would hope to find a piece of news that had the potential to warm one’s heart. One will find an article worth reading, a joke worth chuckling at or a meme worth sharing, perhaps a view worth critiquing — but not usually a piece of news that arcs the corners of your lips and makes you smile.

A couple of hours ago, however, we found something like that — Irrfan Khan is back.

And boy — did we miss him!

Irfaan took to Twitter to share a heartfelt thank you note to his fans, followers and well-wishers, whose prayers and abundance of positive thoughts, in some way, gave him the strength to fight severe illness.

Irrfan points out how we tend to overlook the importance of being loved — and how vulnerability and low points in life remind us of that priceless thing called love. He thanks us for the support that helped him during his healing process, and today, he is back.

Welcome back, Irrfan.

Hindi cinema was not the same without you.

Actually, very little was.

Because, for someone who loves cinema, escapes into it, wraps it around one like a comforting cocoon and finds joy in being detached there from the real world, I missed Irrfan.

A constant worry — when is Irrfan coming back? Is he coming back? Will he continue working in movies like before? Will we have to train ourselves to picture cinema without him? — engulfed me, and many like me.

For, let’s face it, some roles are just meant for him. The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw Photograph is that this should have been Irrfan — though Nawazuddin Siddiqui was as good as he always is.

But Irrfan’s post gives me hope. No, cinema won’t have to learn to do without Irrfan. There will be several more like Piku, Blackmail, Paan Singh Tomar, Qarib Qarib Singlle, Madaari... My cocoon remains.

And for that, I will be re-watching Piku tonight, to once again enjoy Irrfan's tremendous talent. That quiet, yet powerful energy. That twinkle in his eyes. And that smile.

What’re you watching?

Also read: Irrfan Khan on battling cancer has shown us a glimpse of courage and living with freedom