India’s enduring film legend Dilip Kumar passed away at the Hinduja Hospital Mumbai, on 7th of July 2021. The legendary actor known as ‘tragedy king’ for his portrayal of the brooding, intense romantic in classics such as “Mughal-e-Azam” and “Devdas”, is survived by his wife Saira Banu.
The 98 year old has been admitted to the hospital since June 30 following episodes of breathlessness. “He passed away due to prolonged illness at 7.30 am,” Dr Jalil Parkar, who had been treating Dilip Kumar, told PTI.
His family friend Faisal Farooqui posted from the actor’s Twitter handle at 8.01 am “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,”
Later the doctor treating the veterinary actor revealed that Dilip Kumar suffered from advanced prostate cancer that had spread to other organs. “He had water in the pleural cavity, and he suffered kidney failure. He required blood transfusion multiple times,” the doctor stated, adding that the cancer spread made it difficult to treat him.
Born as Yousuf Khan in Peshawar on December 11, 1922, the Hindi cinema veteran was the last of the golden troika with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. His death marks the end of an era of Indian cinema.
Condolence messages for the beloved star, poured in from all quarters as people expressed their grief over his demise.
“Dilip Kumar summarised in himself a history of emerging India. The thespian’s charm transcended all boundaries, and he was loved across the subcontinent…Dilip Saab will live forever in the heart of India,” tweeted the President of India.
The Prime Minister called Dilip Kumar a cinematic legend and wrote “He was blessed with unparalleled brilliance, due to which audiences across generations were enthralled. His passing away is a loss to our cultural world. Condolences to his family, friends and innumerable admirers. RIP”
Amitabh Bachchan, who co-starred with him in “Shakti”, wrote “… whenever the history of Indian cinema will be written, it shall always be before Dilip Kumar and after Dilip Kumar. My duas (prayer) for peace of his soul and the strength to the family to bear this loss… Deeply saddened.”
“Best actor indian cinema has ever seen and will ever see … #RIP Dilip Saab.” Tweeted Salman Khan who shared a cordial relationship with Dilip Kumar.
“To the world many others may be heroes. To us actors, he was The Hero. #DilipKumar Sir has taken an entire era of Indian cinema away with him. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. Om Shanti.” Wrote bollywood actor Akshay Kumar.
On the other hand, Ajay Degan tweeted “Shared many moments with the legend…some very personal, some on stage. Yet, nothing really prepared me for his passing away. An institution, a timeless actor. Heartbroken. Deepest condolences to Sairaji.”