2019 started on a sombre note in Bollywood as news of veteran actor and writer Kader Khan’s demise broke. The actor passed away at the age of 81 on 31 December. Since his debut in 1973’s Daag, which also starred Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore, the actor went on to feature in around 300 films, often with reigning stars of the time such as Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Anupam Kher, Asrani and Amrish Puri.
In the wake of his death, condolences from Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Rishi Kapoor and other members of the Indian film fraternity have been pouring in.
Amitabh Bachchan tweeted his condolences calling Khan “ 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 mathematician !!” The two have featured together in several films including Kaalia, Do Aur Do Paanch and Coolie.
Anupam Kher paid tribute to the lessons he learnt from Khan in a video he posted to his social media.
Rishi Kapoor recalled their long association together. The actor starred in several films for which Khan was a writer, such as Amar, Akbar, Anthony, and featured alongside him in titles such as Yaraana.
Manoj Bajpayee, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and director Madhur Bhandarkar are among other Bollywood celebrities to express their grief over Khan’s passing away.
Kader Khan passed away in Canada after a prolonged illness. He had developed breathing issues and the doctors had reportedly transferred him from regular ventilator to BiPAP ventilator. As per reports, he had been suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia.
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