Entertainment desk:

Yusuf Khan better known as Dilip Kumar in Bollywood film has died at a hospital in Mumbai after suffering a prolonged illness, physicians said on Wednesday. He was 98.

The funeral of Kumar, who was called the tragedy king in Bollywood film industry, will be held later in the day.

Physician Jalil Parkar, who was treating Kumar at PD Hinduja Hospital, told Indian media that the actor breathed his last at around 7.30 am.

People from across the board mourned the demise of the actor, who gave Hindi movie some of its most enduring classics during his more than five decades of career.

Indian President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed profound shock at the death of Dilip Kumar. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also expressed sorrow at the death of the Bollywood legend.

Kumar had been admitted to the hospital after experiencing breathlessness on June 30. He was earlier admitted to the hospital on June 6 after a similar complaint when he was diagnosed with bilateral pleural effusion, according to Indian media.

He was discharged from the hospital after five days when his condition slightly improved.

Born as Yusuf Khan in Peshawar on December 11, 1922, Kumar went to school in Deolali, Maharashtra, where his fruit merchant father owned orchards. He was moved to Pune in 1940 at set up a shop to supply dry fruits and running a canteen.

He later met actress Devika Rani and her husband actor-director Himanshu Rai in a military canteen and cast him as the lead in 1944’s Jwar Bhata.

Author Bhagwati Charan Varma changed his name from Yusuf Khan to Dilip Kumar and the young actor took his first tentative steps towards stardom.

Kumar debuted as an actor in the film Jwar Bhata (1944). In a career spanning over five decades, Kumar worked in over 65 films.

He is known for roles in films such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the social drama Daag (1952), the dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the epic historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960), the social dacoit crime drama Gunga Jamuna (1961), and the comedy Ram Aur Shyam (1967). newsnextbd.com/n