Veteran Bollywood actor Kader Khan has died at the age of 81. He was hospitalised in a hospital in Canada. He is survived by wife Hajra, son Sarfaraz, daughter-in-law Shaista and grandchildren.
His funeral will take place in Toronto, where he had been living for quite some time.
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who has acted with Khan several films including Do Aur Do Paanch, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr. Natwarlal, Suhaag, Coolie and Shahenshah, tweeted, “Kadar Khan passes away .. sad depressing news .. my prayers and condolences .. a brilliant stage artist a most compassionate and accomplished talent on film .. a writer of eminence ; in most of my very successful films .. a delightful company .. and a mathematicia !!”
Reacting to his death, Congress President Rahul Gandhi wrote on Facebook, “I am sorry to hear about the demise of noted actor Kader Khan Ji. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans all around the world. We will miss him.”
Union Minister Smriti Irani tweeted, “If you were a late 80s-90s kid who watched Hindi films, chances are you encountered the magic of Kader Khan. Never had the privilege of meeting him but if I ever had I would say ‘ thank you for the laughter, thank you for your craft’.”
Industrialist and politician Naveen Jindal wrote, “Sad to hear of the demise of veteran actor and screenwriter #KaderKhan saab. My condolences to his family, friends and millions of fans worldwide and prayers for the departed soul.”
Last week, Kader Khan had to be hospitalised in a hospital in Canada after he developed breathing problem. Khan, who has been staying in Canada with his son Sarfaraz and daughter-in-law Shaista, had to be placed on a Bipap ventilator.
Khan was born in Kabul and made his Bollywood debut in 1973 in Daag starring Rajesh Khanna. He went on to act in more than 300 films. Aside from being an accomplished actor, he also dialogues for over 250 films. Before becoming an actor, he wrote dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s Jawani Diwani.
Two filmmakers Kader Khan actively collaborated were Manmohan Desaid and Prakash Mehra. Some of the notable films he worked with these two filmmakers were Dharam Veer, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati, Coolie, Suhaag, Desh Premee, Amar Akbar Anthony, Parvarish, Jwalamukhi, Sharaabi, Lawaaris and Muqadaar Ka Sikandar.