Veteran Bollywood actor-writer Kader Khan has died in Canada due to a prolonged illness, his son Sarfaraz confirmed Tuesday. He was 81. 

Kader Khan was admitted to a hospital in Canada on Friday after he complained of breathlessness; his funeral will take place later on Tuesday.

“My dad has left us. He passed away on December 31 at 6 pm as per Canadian time due to prolonged illness. He slipped into coma in the afternoon. He was in the hospital for 16-17 weeks. The last rites will be performed here in Canada only. We have our entire family here and we live here so we are doing it,” Khan’s son Sarfaraz told PTI, adding, “We are thankful to everyone for their blessings and prayers,” he added. He had dismissed Kader Khan’s death rumours a day ago.

The actor had been admitted after complaining of breathlessness and was put on a BiPAP ventilator. He was unable to talk and also showed signs of pneumonia. Kader Khan suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia. Kader also underwent surgeries for his knees in 2017.

Earlier on Friday, actor Amitabh Bachchan shared wishes for his good health on Twitter. “KADER KHAN .. actor writer of immense talent .. lies ill in Hospital .. PRAYERS and DUAS for his well being and recovery .. saw him perform on stage, welcomed him and his prolific writing for my films .. great company, a Libran .. and many not know , taught Mathematics,” he wrote in his tweet. Bachchan and Khan had done a number of films together.

Born in Kabul, Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s Daag and went on to act in over 300 films. He also wrote dialogues for over 250 movies, with his first film as a dialogue writer being Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s Jawani Diwani. As a screenwriter, Khan frequently collaborated with Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra.

Source: Hindustan Times

BDST: 1202 HRS, JAN 01, 2019
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