A pall of gloom descended on the Indian cinema industry as Legendary Actor Dilip Kumar passed away due to prolonged illness. He was 98. A tweet posted from the actor's official handle by family friend Faisal Farooqui read, “With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip saab a few minutes ago. We are from God and to him we return.”
Popularly known as the 'Tragedy king of Bollywood', Dilip Kumar was in and out of the hospital for a few months. He suffered from advanced prostate cancer that had spread to other parts of his body. The veteran actor was hospitalised for the second time in a month last week after he complained of breathlessness.
He was unresponsive for the last few days and breathed his last on July 7 at 7.30 am. His funeral will take place later in the day, it was announced via his official Twitter account. "Burial today at 5:00 PM. Juhu Qabrastan at Santacruz Mumbai," the tweet read. Dilip Kumar is survived by his wife Saira Banu.
Born as Yusuf Khan, Dilip Kumar was one of the iconic actors of the Golden Age of cinema. Some of his best known films are 'Devdas', 'Mughal-e-Azam', 'Gunga Jamuna', 'Ram Aur Shyam', 'Naya Daur', 'Madhumati', 'Kranti', 'Vidhaata', 'Shakti' and 'Mashaal', to name just a few.