KATHMANDU: Bollywood actor and writer Kader Khan has died at the age of 81, reported hindustantimes.

Khan was reportedly admitted to a hospital in Canada on Friday after his health deteriorated.

It has also been reported that the veteran actor-writer Khan died in Canada due to a prolonged illness.

The funeral of the actor who has worked in over 300 films will take place today in Canada where his family is living at present.

The hindustantimes reported that Khan’s son Sarfaraz was quoted in Indian news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) as saying,  “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,” adding, “We are thankful to everyone for their blessings and prayers.” Sarfaraz had reportedly dismissed Kader Khan’s death rumours a day before.

The actor had been reportedly admitted after complaining of breathlessness and was put on a BiPAP ventilator. He was unable to talk and also showed signs of pneumonia. Kader Khan suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia. Khan also underwent surgeries for his knees in 2017.

Born in Kabul, Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s Daag and went on to act in over 300 films. He also wrote dialogues for over 250 movies, with his first film as a dialogue writer being Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s Jawani Diwani. As a screenwriter, Khan frequently collaborated with Manmohan Desai and Prakash Mehra.

Khan was synonymous with comic roles, especially in films with Govinda. He worked in a number of David Dhawan directed Govinda films like Dulhe Raja, Coolie No.1, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Raja Babu, Saajan Chale Sasural, Aunty No.1, among others. In fact, Khan has worked with all leading actors of 70s, 80s and 90s, including Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Feroz Khan, Anil Kapoor and Govinda among others.