NEW DELHI: Dilip Kumar, one of India’s most famous cinema names, passed away at the age of 98 on Wednesday.
The legendary actor was born Mohammed Yusuf Khan in December 1922 in Peshawar but was mostly known by his screen name.
“With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab,“ family friend Faisal Farooqui said in a message posted on the actor’s Twitter account in the morning.
The Bollywood icon was admitted to a Mumbai hospital last week due to age-related ailments.
His wife Saira Banu Khan, a prominent cinema figure, said on Monday that Dilip Kumar’s condition was improving and requested people to pray for his health.
Tributes poured in from film celebrities, politicians and fans for the actor known for his handsome looks and melancholic roles.
“An institution has gone .. whenever the history of Indian Cinema will be written, it shall always be ‘before Dilip Kumar, and after Dilip Kumar’,“ actor Amitabh Bachchan tweeted.
Film star Anil Kapoor said in a social media post: “He was and will always be the finest and greatest actor of our industry for me.”
Dilip Kumar entertained Bollywood fans for more than five decades and inspired a generation of actors.
His first film was “Jwar Bhata” in 1944.
One of his best-known movies was the 1960 blockbuster “Mughal-e-Azam” in which he played Prince Salim, son of Mughal emperor Akbar.
The actor was popular both in India and Pakistan.
“He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world,“ Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet.
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province plans to turn Dilip Kumar’s ancestral home in Peshawar into a museum to honour him. -Bernama
