Kader Khan, the veteran actor and director, passed away on December 31 aged 81 due to a prolonged illness. His son Sarfaraz confirmed that Khan had been in hospital for the past 16 weeks and had slipped into a coma yesterday afternoon, passing away at 6pm Canada time (3am in the UAE). He was reportedly suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a rare degenerative brain disorder.
Born in Afghanistan, Khan debuted on-screen in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna's Daag. He then went on to feature in more than 300 films.
Tributes to the star poured in on Twitter. World-famous actor Amitabh Bachchan said it's "sad depressing news ... my prayers and condolences ... a brilliant stage artist a most compassionate and accomplished talent on film ..." Khan was an accomplished writer as well having scripted more than 250 films. Much of Bachchan's memorable lines were penned by Khan in films such as Coolie, Desh Premee, Suhaag, Parvarish, Amar Akbar Anthony, Sharaabi, Lawaaris and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.
T 3045 - 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 mathematician !! pic.twitter.com/l7pdv0Wdu1
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) January 1, 2019
Another well-known Indian actor and comedian, Ssumier Pasricha, also paid his condolences, saying it was "sad news to start this year with".
Sad news to start this year with Veteran Actor /Writer kader Khan is no more #RIPKaderKhan pic.twitter.com/OlJfOUKrfp
— Ssumier (@Ssumier) January 1, 2019
Smriti Irani, a television actress and now a union minister of textiles, also weighed in. She wrote: "If you were a late 80s-90s kid who watch 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' #RIPKaderKhan".
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’ #RIPKaderKhan
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 1, 2019
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