Bollywood Legend Dilip Kumar dies at 98

One of India’s most respected actors, Dilip Kumar known for his roles as a tragic hero in Bollywood films, died on Wednesday morning.

Kumar was aged 98 and had been ailing for some time, one of the doctors treating him told reporters.

“He had breathing difficulties…We tried very hard. We had hoped he would reach 100,” the actor’s doctor Jalil Parkar said.

Although born Mohammed Yusuf Khan in 1922 in Peshawar, now in Pakistan, he was known by the screen name of Dilip Kumar once he joined Bollywood in the 1940s.

At his residence in Mumbai, Bollywood stars thronged to pay their respects, among them actor Shah Rukh Khan, producer Karan Johar and actress Vidya Balan.

The funeral will be held later on Wednesday.

Authorities in Peshawar in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said they were planning to restore the actor’s ancestral home in a narrow lane of the city.

“We are now working on its conservation,” said Dr Abdus Samad, director general of archaeology department.

In his later years, although the hits were harder to come by, Kumar retained his stature as India’s first marquee star, whose face on a poster was enough for audiences to throng the theatres.

He is survived by his wife, Saira Banu, a top Bollywood leading lady in the 1960s and 1970s.

Source: Reuters