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Veteran actor and producer Dheeraj Kumar, known for his work in Hindi and Punjabi cinema, passed away at the age of 79 at a private hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday (July 15).
According to sources, Kumar was suffering from acute pneumonia and was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit. Yesterday, he suffered multiple organ failure and was put on ventilator support. Kumar breathed his last at around 11 AM today, with his son present at the hospital during his final moments.
Kumar entered the film industry in 1965, after participating in a talent show in which late superstar Rajesh Khanna participated and emerged as the winner. “In a talent contest in Mumbai in the 1960s, three were selected to be actors among some 10,000 aspirants — Rajesh Khanna, myself and Subhash Ghai, who went on to become a director. So our journey in the industry started together. Subsequently, he became a superstar,” said Kumar in a conversation with The Hindu after the passing of Khanna in 2012, recounting the memories of working with the late superstar in the 1977 film Tyaag, and later, a television series in 2019.
As an actor, Kumar made his debut in 1970’s Raaton Ka Raja, co-starring Shatrughan Sinha. He went on to act in several notable films such as Heera Panna (1973), Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (1974), Sargam (1979), and Kranti (1981).
Between 1970 and 1984, Kumar reportedly starred in 21 Punjabi films before starting his television production company, Creative Eye. The banner went on to make popular television shows, like Om Namah Shivay (1997) and Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann (2006). In 2019, Creative Eye produced the ZEE5 web series Ishq Aaj Kal.
The news about the death of Dheeraj Kumar has come as a shock to the entertainment industry. The cremation is expected to take place tomorrow.
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