Who Was Dilip Kumar? Bollywood Actor Passes Away at 98

Dilip Kumar, one of India's renowned Bollywood actors, has died at the age of 98 due to "prolonged illness," according to a doctor who was treating him.

The actor's death was announced via his official Twitter account, which is managed by Faisal Farooqui, a family friend of Kumar.

In a tweet posted Wednesday morning, Farooqui said: "With a heavy heart and profound grief, I announce the passing away of our beloved Dilip Saab, few minutes ago. We are from God and to Him we return. - Faisal Farooqui."

India's The Hindu reported Dr. Jalil Parkar, the chest specialist who was treating Kumar, told the Press Trust of India (PTI): "He passed away due to prolonged illness at 7.30 a.m."

Who Was Dilip Kumar?

Kumar was one of Bollywood's most acclaimed actors, appearing in nearly 60 films over the course of a career spanning more than 50 years.

Known for often playing the tragic hero in various Bollywood films, he was nicknamed "The Tragedy King" and dominated Indian cinema from the 1940s to 1960s, the Agence France-Presse reported.

He was born Mohammed Yusuf Khan on December 11 in 1922 in Peshawar, a city in Pakistan which was then a part of British-ruled India.

The AFP reported his father was a fruit seller who wanted Kumar to take over the business. But Kumar refused after he was spotted at his father's fruit stand, in what was Bombay at the time, by actress Devika Rani. The sighting led to his first role in a film called Jwar Bhata in 1944.

He chose to be known as Dilip Kumar after he was persuaded by Rani to change his name, which allowed him to hide his film work from his disapproving father, according to the AFP.

While Kumar's first film flopped, his breakthrough roles came in 1946 in the film Milan and in 1949 in the film Andaz.

According to Reuters, his part in Andaz, as a jilted lover caught in a love triangle, skyrocketed Kumar to fame and he played tragic roles for a decade onward.

Among his most remembered roles was one in the historical romance Mughal-e-Azam, a 1960 film based on the life of one of India's great Mughal princes.

The film took eight years to complete and cost 15 million rupees at the time, and went on to become one of Bollywood's highest-grossing films.

In 2006, Kumar was given a lifetime achievement award at India's National Film Awards for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Despite the awards and acclaim, Kumar was surprised by the success he's had.

In an interview with The Hindustan Times marking his 85th birthday, the Bollywood actor said: "Honestly, I've still to figure out how an intensely shy young man called Yusuf Khan became the actor Dilip Kumar."

Declining Health Before Death

In June, Farooqui said Kumar was admitted to a "non-Covid PD Hinduja Hospital Khar for routine tests and investigations" following "episodes of breathlessness," in a tweet posted on June 6.

According to a tweet the following day, Kumar was reported to be "stable" and "on oxygen support."

He was discharged from the hospital on June 11, before being readmitted at the end of June "to address medical issues related to illness which are frequently expected in a 98 year old," Farooqui tweeted on June 30.

Kumar is survived by his wife Saira Banu, a fellow Bollywood star who is 22 years his junior. The couple had no children.

In a 2012 interview with the Hindustan Times, Kumar said: "It would have been great if we had our own kids. But we have no regrets.

"It is enough for us that we have our families to share our happiness and our small dismays with," he added.