DNA (January 1, 2019)

Hours before 2018 ended, Bollywood lost another powerhouse of talent. Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passed away in Canada on Monday (December 31) at 6 pm (Canada time) after a prolonged illness. The 81-year-old Khan was hospitalised on Friday (December 28) after he complained of breathlessness.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, Khan slipped into a coma. His son Sarfraz has been quoted as saying, “He was in the hospital for 16-17 weeks. The last rites will be performed here in Canada only. We have our entire family here and we live here, so we are doing it here.”

When he was hospitalised on Friday for breathlessness, Khan was put on a BiPAP ventilator. He was apparently unable to talk and showed signs of pneumonia. He suffered from progressive supra-nuclear palsy (PSP), an uncommon brain disorder that causes serious problems with walking, balance and eye movements. In 2017, he had also undergone surgeries for his knees.

Born in Kabul (Afghanistan) on October 22, 1937, Khan moved with his family to Mumbai where he enrolled in a municipal school and later went to Ismail Yusuf College, after which he obtained a Master’s Diploma in Engineering from the Institute of Engineers (India), with a specialisation in Civil Engineering. He taught Engineering at MH Saboo Siddik College from 1970 to 1975. And it was while performing in an annual day play that he was noticed by Bollywood thespian Dilip Kumar, who signed him for his next film.

Khan, who also used to write plays for theatre, was offered to script Ramesh Behl’s Jawani Diwani (1972), starring Randhir Kapoor and Jaya Bhaduri (now Bachchan). He began his acting career playing a prosecution lawyer in Yash Chopra’s Daag (1973) starring Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Rakhee and followed it up with Sagina (1974), starring Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu. There was no looking back, as he went on to act in over 300 films and write dialogues for over 250 titles. Essaying a wide variety of roles, he acted with almost all actors, from Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra to Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi. Actors, directors and technicians, whether he worked with them or not, mourned his loss on social media.