Veteran Bollywood actor-director-writer-comedian and a Quran scholar, Kader Khan died after a prolonged illness at a hospital in Toronto in Canada, a family member said here on Tuesday.

Kader, 81, is survived by his wife Hajra, son Sarfaraz, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren.

According to Ahmed Khan, a close relative, he passed away around 4 a.m. (IST).

He said the last rites will be held in a Toronto cemetery later in the day.

Kader Khan was reportedly suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia.

On Friday (December 28), Khan's co-star of several films and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan took to Twitter to pray for the former's speedy recovery. Kader Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have worked together in films like Do Aur Do Paanch, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Mr Natwarlal, Suhaag, Coolie and Shahenshah.

 

"Kader Khan... actor writer of immense talent... lies ill in Hospital... Prayer 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," Bachchan wrote on Twitter.

 

Kader Khan, who was born in Kabul, made his debut in acting with Daag, starting Rajesh Khanna in the lead role. After that film in 1973, Khan went on to work in over 300 films, spanning several decades.

Khan was a man of many talents. Apart from acting in over 300 films, he had written dialogues for over 250 movies. Before he moved to acting full time, he had written dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan film Jawani Diwani.

Among Khan's frequent collaborators as a screenwriter were Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra. With Manmohan Desai, Kader Khan gave the Hindi film industry gems like Dharam Veer, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati, Coolie, Suhaag, Desh Premee, Amar Akbar Anthony and Parvarish.

With Prakash Mehra, Kader Khan has collaborated on films like Jwalamukhi, Sharaabi, Lawaaris and Muqadaar Ka Sikandar.

Kader Khan is survived by a nation of grieving fans and his family.