Actor Irrfan, who is undergoing treatment for cancer in London, will no longer headline comedy collective All India Bakchod’s Amazon web series Gormint.

In a Facebook post on Monday, the actor said, “After shooting for months and having a ballistic time on set, I discovered my now on-going physical condition. With a heavy heart I would like to say that due to this ongoing situation, I will not be able to fulfill my acting commitment to the show.” He added that he was “gutted by this development” but must “exit stage left”.

In March, the actor had revealed that he had been diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor, a rare form of cancer.

Gormint, earlier named The Ministry, has been described as a “political satire set in contemporary India’s corridors of power”. The show will be released on Amazon Prime later this year and is AIB’s first fictional series. Irrfan was to play a former film star who is finds himself appointed as India’s Union Minister of Culture. The new cast has not been announced.

In a statement on AIB’s Instagram account, Gormint creator and the group’s founder-member Gursimran Khamba, said, “With a heavy heart, as we all begin to imagine and work on the show without him, I can only hope that we will still make something worthy of the vision and passion sir showed for it.”

To everyone who’s been asking me “What’s happening with The Ministry? (now Gormint) I’d like to inform everyone that due to Irrfan sirs unfortunate health situation we’ve jointly decided that he no longer be cast in the show. Over the last year as we worked on the show he’s been everything from a friend, teacher to a mentor and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to collaborate with him. Life mein aise mauke kam hi milte hain - but abhi jo bhi likhoonga cliche lagega - toh woh saari stories baad mein. For now from me and all of us at AIB, all we want is for him to get healthy and healed so we can plan more shenanigans together in the future. I still look forward to excitable 3 am calls from him with terrific random ideas for the show. And with a heavy heart, as we all begin to imagine and work on the show without him, I can only hope that we will still make something worthy of the vision and passion sir showed for it. Get well and be better soon! Abhi bahut designs ke kurte try karne hain! :) - @gursimrankhamba

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Vijay Subramaniam, the Director and Head of Content at Amazon Prime Video India, said that Irrfan’s exit was a joint decision by the actor and the makers of the show. “Amazon Prime Video, along with the show’s creators and cast, are deeply saddened by this news,” Subramaniam said in a press note. “Irrfan has been – and will continue to remain a part of the Amazon family. We wish him a speedy and successful recovery and look forward to watching the show with him sitting right next to us.”

Irrfan was last seen in Akarsh Khurrana’s road movie Karwaan alongside Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar, which was released on August 3.