MUMBAI: Actor Deepak Dobriyal, who worked with Irrfan Khan in "Angrezi Medium" earlier this year, recalls the late actor was like an elder brother.

"From making me understand the craft of acting to teaching me how to give genuine expressions on screen, he taught me and helped me a lot, like a big brother. His death is a personal loss," Deepak told IANS.

Irrfan died on Wednesday at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital where he was admitted the day before with colon infection. He even had battled neuroendocrine tumour for several months.

Remembering his late co-star, Deepak recalled how Irrfan happily continued shooting "Angrezi Medium" while undergoing treatment for cancer.

"Despite being in pain, he duly fulfilled his professional commitments. He was not in pink of his health, so I always tried my best to make him smile during our shooting. I used to joke with him and he never felt bad. He always treated me like his chhota bhai."

"It's hard to digest the news of his demise. We had even planned to work on 'Urdu Medium' or 'Chinese Medium'. Now it's dream which will never become true," Deepak grieved.