Veteran actor-director Kader Khan dies due to illness

Veteran actor-writer Kader Khan passed away due to prolonged illness at the age of 81 on December 31, his son Sarfaraz confirmed.

Khan was admitted to a hospital in Canada and his son confirmed that his last rites will be conducted in the country.

"My dad has left us. He passed away on December 31 at 6 pm as per Canadian time due to prolonged illness. He slipped into coma in the afternoon. 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," said Khan's son Sarfaraz.

"We are thankful to everyone for their blessings and prayers," he added.

The news of the death of the actor-screenwriter, who was at his peak in the 1980s-90s, comes days after his son dismissed media reports of his demise.

Khan had developed breathing issues and the doctors had reportedly transferred him from regular ventilator to BiPAP ventilator.

As per reports, he was suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia.

Born in Kabul, Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna's "Daag" and has featured in over 300 films.

He wrote dialogues for over 250 movies. Before becoming an actor he had written dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan's "Jawani Diwani".

As a screenwriter, Khan frequently collaborated with Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra.

His films with Desai include "Dharam Veer", "Ganga Jamuna Saraswati", "Coolie", "Desh Premee", "Suhaag", "Parvarish" and "Amar Akbar Anthony" and films with Mehra include "Jwalamukhi", "Sharaabi", "Lawaaris", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar".