Veteran Bollywood actor-writer Kader Khan passed away on Monday late night after a prolonged illness in Canada. He was 81 years old. "He passed away on December 31 due to prolonged illness. He slipped into coma in the afternoon and was in the hospital for 16-17 weeks," his son Sarfaraz told. "The last rites will be performed in Canada. We have our entire family here and we live here so we are doing it in Canada. We are thankful to everyone for their blessings and prayers," he added.

Khan was suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia. He had developed breathing issues and the doctors had reportedly transferred him from regular ventilator to BiPAP ventilator, a private news channel reported. He born in Kabul, Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna's Daag and had 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.

Khan went from playing the role of a villain in films like Farz Aur Kanoon, Jeeo Aur Jeene Do, Naya Kadam and Qaidi to winning hearts with his comic timing in Hum, Bol Radha Bol, Aunty No 1 among others. As a screenwriter, Khan frequently collaborated with Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra. His films include Dharam Veer, Ganga Jamuna Saraswati, Coolie, Desh Premee, Suhaag, Parvarish and Amar Akbar Anthony, Jwalamukhi, Sharaabi, Lawaaris and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Khan is survived by his wife Hajra, son Sarfaraz, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2019