Dilip Kumar passes away: Saira Banu expresses gratitude to govt for state funeral honour

Screen legend Dilip Kumar on Wednesday was buried with full state honours here, marking the end of an illustrious career as one of Indian cinema’s most loved icons. The 98-year-old actor, who passed away following prolonged illness, was laid to rest around 4:45 PM in the presence of family, including actor wife Saira Banu . Kumar was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at the Juhu Qabrastan in Santacruz Mumbai. Later in the day, Banu expressed her gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for giving state honours to the veteran actor.

According to the actor’s family friend Faisal Farooqui, Kumar’s nephew actor Ayub Khan and Banu’s nephew among other relatives were present at the cemetery for the funeral. While not more than 25-30 people were allowed inside the Qabrastan, the venue was packed with media and fans of the late star. The crowd, of nearly 100 people, was being controlled by the police. Those who could not make it to the funeral stood on their rooftops to catch a glimpse of the late star. Post the funeral, megastar Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek Bachchan visited the Juhu Qabrastan to pay their respects to Kumar. As per the state funeral protocols, Kumar’s body was draped with tricolour at his Pali Hill residence, before being moved to the burial ground. More than 60 policemen were present at his residence. Adequate security measures were taken by the police to prevent people to enter the lane leading to Kumar’s house. Born as Yousuf Khan in Peshawar on 11 December, 1922, Kumar was known to generations of film-goers as the “tragedy king.” Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who directed Kumar in movies like Saudagar (1991) and Karma (1986) also came for the funeral but COVID protocols prevented him to go inside. Earlier in the day, Kumar’s friends, colleagues and fans, including Dharmendra, Shah Rukh Khan, Shabana Azmi, Vidya Balan and producer Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ranbir Kapoor paid their respects to the acting legend at his residence. The Hindi cinema veteran, the last of the golden troika with Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand and one of India’s most venerated stars, was admitted to hospital last month following episodes of breathlessness. The actor had been battling ill health for the last few years, including advanced-stage prostate cancer and lung disease, and had been in and out of the hospital. The first of the Khans, as he was sometimes referred to, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha for one term, awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan and also served as sheriff of Mumbai. He was also honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award. _(Also read on Firstpost: Dilip Kumar passes away: Tracing pop culture references to see how actor left a lasting impact on Hindi cinema)_