Known for his exceptional comic timing as indeed known for his equally lauded writing acumen, Kader Khan, the veteran Bollywood actor, breathes his last, at 81, in a hospital in Canada on January 1, 2019. According to reports, Khan had developed breathing issues and the doctors had transferred him from a ventilator to BiPAP ventilator. Kader Khan' son Sarfaraz and his daughter-in-law were reportedly by his side. He breathed his last today.

"Kader Khan, actor-writer of immense talent, lies ill in hospital. Prayers and duas for his well-being and recovery. Saw him perform on stage, welcomed him and his prolific writing for my films, great company, a Libran and many may not know, taught Mathematics," had tweeted Big B when the news of Khan's deteriorating health broke

It would be pertinent to note that since the beginning of his career in 1973, in the Indian movie industry, popularly referred to as Bollywood, Khan has worked in over 350 movies. He graduated from Ismail Yusuf College of Bombay University before breaking into the industry. He was a professor of civil engineering before becoming an actor.

It was superstar Rajesh Khanna who gave Khan the first break as a dialogue writer for his film Roti. Thereafter he wrote dialogues for films like Himmatwala,Jaani Dost, Sarfarosh, Justice Chaudhury, Farz Aur Kanoon, Jeo Aur Jeene Do, Tohfa, Qaidi, Haisiyat.

He succeeded very quickly as a passionate writer majorly because he wrote his lines in colloquial language. Not many are aware of the fact that Kader Khan has written books and has elaborated the ghazals of Ghalib with more than 100 gazals in his compilation. In 2013, he was awarded the Literary Shiromani Award for his contribution to the films.

He also bagged Filmfare Best Dialogue Awards in 1982 and 1993. He was Nominated 9 times as Best Comedian in the Filmfare Awards. As an actor, Khan received the Filmfare Award in Best Supporting Role in the year 1991 and Best Supporting Role in 2004. May his soul rest in peace.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 01, 2019 10:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).