Dilip Kumar death: Smriti Irani remembers veteran actor, terms his demise as 'end of era'

Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani has come forward and offered her last respects to late actor Dilip Kumar after he passed away on Wednesday morning. He was 98. 

 The Padma Vibhushan recipient had been facing multiple health issues for the past few weeks, being hospitalised numerous times for breathlessness and being treated upon for bilateral pleural effusion. The news was confirmed by Dr. Jalil Parkar, the pulmonologist treating the actor at Mumbai's PD Hinduja Hospital.

Smriti Irani pays last tribute to Dilip Kumar

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Smriti Irani posted an image of Dilip Kumar from his heydays and captioned it as 'End of an era… Om Shanti'

Dilip Kumar passes away

Dilip Kumar had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a Mumbai hospital, has shown improvement in his health, his wife Saira Banu said on Monday. The 98-year-old screen icon was admitted in suburban Khar-based Hinduja Hospital, a non-COVID-19 facility, last week to address age-related "medical issues" days after being discharged from the same hospital. 

 A tweet posted by Banu from the official Twitter account of Kumar on Monday asked his fans to pray for the actor so that he is discharged from the hospital "soon."

"We are grateful for God's infinite mercy on Dilip Sahib that his health is improving. We are still in hospital and request your prayers and duas so that Insha’Allah he is healthy and discharged soon," the tweet read.

The Hindi cinema veteran was admitted to the Hinduja Hospital in June following episodes of breathlessness. At the time, Kumar was diagnosed with bilateral pleural effusion -- a build-up of excess fluid between the layers of the pleura outside the lungs -- and underwent a successful pleural aspiration procedure.

Dilip Kumar's legendary acting career

Known as the 'Tragedy King of Bollywood', veteran actor Dilip Kumar was one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian Cinema. 

Dilip Kumar’s real name is Mohammad Yusuf Khan. As per reports, Dilip Kumar was also the first superstar who had successfully won the trophy for the Best Actor in Filmfare Award.

Dilip made his debut in the movie Jwar Bhata (1944) on the recommendation of iconic star Ashok Kumar, who was his mentor in the initial days of his career.

Dilip Kumar has acted in over 65 films during the course of his career which spanned over 5 decades. He is best known for his iconic roles in movies like 'Devdas '(1955), 'Naya Daur' (1957), 'Mughal-e-Azam' (1960), 'Ganga Jamuna' (1961), 'Kranti' (1981), and 'Karma' (1986). The veteran actor was last seen in 'Qila' (1998). He has been felicitated with numerous honours and awards, including the Padma Vibhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Government of India.