Veteran actor Dilip Kumar was admitted to a suburban hospital on Sunday after he complained of uneasiness in the chest.
“Dilip Kumar has been admitted to our hospital, he is in the intensive care unit (ICU) and his condition is stable,” Lilavati Hospital spokesperson Dr. Naresh Trivedi said.
Kumar, 90, known as the ‘King of Tragedy’, essayed iconic roles in classics like Devdas, Madhumati, Mughal-e-Azam and Ganga Jamuna.
Dilip Kumar was born Muhammad Yusuf Khan on December 11, 1922, in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) and his acting career spanned six decades and over 60 films.
He was the first to receive Filmfare Best Actor honour when the awards were started in 1954 and, with eight wins, shares with Shah Rukh Khan the record for the most number of Filmfare awards won in that category.
He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
He was also nominated to Rajya Sabha for a term from 2000 to 2006.
In 1998, he was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award conferred by the government of Pakistan.
“There is no need to be worried,” said Uday Tara, family friend and biographer of the actor.
She told reporters outside the hospital, “He is stable, he had mild fever and felt little discomfort. Family and doctors had decided to keep him under observation in the hospital for safety.”
When asked about the reports of heart attack, she said, “There is nothing like that and he is conscious and is also eating food now.”
Kumar had suffered a stroke in 1999. Right now his family, including wife Saira Banu, is with the actor.
Meanwhile, Saira Banu came outside the hospital and briefed the reporters about the health of her husband.
“He is stable, and we are praying that he recovers fully. On 13th of this month he had viral fever for one day and today he felt a little discomfort and we decided to bring him to hospital and right now he is conscious. He had undergone open heart surgery 14 years ago,” she said.
