Bollywood stars, political leaders pay last respects to Dilip Kumar

Veteran actor and Bollywood icon Dilip Kumar died at the age of 98 on Wednesday after suffering from age-related health issues. As the film industry mourned his demise, several stars and politicians arrived at his residence in Mumbai to pay their last respects.

His last rites will be performed today at Juhu Muslim Cemetery in Santacruz West, around 5 pm. The actor's funeral will take place with full state honours. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and several other Bollywood stars including Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Dharmendra and others arrived at the Hindi cinema legend's Bandra residence to pay their last respects and offer condolences to Kumar's wife Saira Banu.

While Dilip Kumar found fans in millions of people, there has been no other greater admirer of him like Shah Rukh. SRK's fondness for Kumar and his wife Saira Banu is known to all. His connection with the late actor goes back to the days in Peshawar because SRK's father also used to live there.

He was seen arriving at Dilip Kumar's residence with his team. Shah Rukh wore a face mask and swiftly made his way inside the house to meet Saira and offer her his condolences.

Filmmaker Karan Johar also arrived at Dilip Kumar's Mumbai residence to pay his last respects and was seen in all-black attire. In 2014, Karan had hosted Dilip Kumar's autobiography launch event. The was titled 'Substance And The Shadow'.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that Kumar will be honoured with a state funeral today evening. He arrived at the residence and consoled the late actor's wife.

"Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray has instructed that the funeral of veteran actor Dilip Kumar will be held in a state funeral," read a tweet from Uddhav Thackeray's official handle.

Expressing deep grief over the demise of Kumar, NCP President Sharad Pawar, on arrival reportedly evoked many memories of him. He had also earlier visited the actor when he was previously admitted to the hospital for breathing problems.

Anil Kapoor, who starred with Kumar in 'Shakti', 'Marshaal' and 'Karma', called sharing screen space with him a tremendous honour on social media. Wearing a face-mask, he was photographed arriving at Saira Banu's home on Wednesday afternoon.

Ranbir was spotted arriving at Kumar's Bandra residence to pay his last respects to the legendary actor. Dressed in black, Ranbir was snapped speaking to people outside before he headed inside to offer condolences to Saira Banu.

Known as Tragedy King, Dilip Kumar's career spanned over six decades. He acted in over 65 films in his career and is known for his iconic roles in movies like 'Devdas' (1955), 'Naya Daur' (1957), 'Mughal-e-Azam' (1960), 'Ganga Jamuna' (1961), 'Kranti' (1981), and 'Karma' (1986).

His last film was 'Qila', which was released in 1998. The evergreen icon is now survived by his wife and veteran actor Saira Banu.

( With inputs from ANI )