Mumbai:Legendary Bollywood actor Mohammed Yusuf Khan, popularly known as Dilip Kumar, passed away here in the early hours of Wednesday, his family and aides said. He was 98. The funeral service of the veteran actor will be held today at 5 pm at Santacruz Mumbai with full state honours.
The actor had been fighting a prolonged battle with age-related health issues and had been in and out of hospitals several times. Kumar had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Hinduja Hospital, a non-COVID-19 facility, since Tuesday. Dr Jalil Parkar, the pulmonologist treating the veteran actor, confirmed his death.
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"With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab, few minutes ago. We are from God and to Him we return," family friend Faisal Farooqui posted from the actor's Twitter handle.
"We tried our best to ensure that he received the best possible treatment. However, age-related complications came in the way," Dr Jalil Parkar said. "At the age of 98, every person has some problems or the other. We gave him all possible treatments and tried our best. There was an age constraint, due to which he died today at 7:30 am. He had shortness of breath. We wanted him to complete 100 years of his lifetime," Dr Parkar said.
The doctor hailed Kumar's constant Saira Banu for her support. "She stayed with him 24X7 in hospital and never left his side. She took proper care of Dilip sahab till his last breath," he said.
In a career spanning over six decades, Kumar acted in over 65 movies. He is best known for his roles in 'Devdas '(1955), 'Naya Daur' (1957), 'Mughal-e-Azam' (1960), 'Ganga Jamuna' (1961), 'Kranti' (1981), and 'Karma' (1986). He was last seen in 'Qila' in 1998.
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Kumar, part of Hindi cinema's famed triumvirate along with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, was a trendsetter in the country and a heartthrob of millions in both India and Pakistan. Unlike Kapoor and Anand, Kumar never forayed into filmmaking but stuck to acting and cemented his place in the hearts of cinema lovers. Kumar was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. Way back in 1994, he was bestowed with the Dadasaheb Phalke award. He also had a tryst in politics after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha for one term from April 3, 2000 - April 2, 2006.
