Manoj Kumar, Veteran Actor Known For Patriotic Films, Dies Aged 87
Veteran star Manoj Kumar died aged 87. He breathed his last at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
Veteran Bollywood star Manoj Kumar has died at the age of 87. As per several reports, he breathed his last at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital at 4.03 am. Tributes have been pouring in to honour the legendary actor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared several old pictures of Manoj Kumar, calling him an “icon of Indian cinema.” He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Deeply saddened by the passing of legendary actor and filmmaker Shri Manoj Kumar Ji. He was an icon of Indian cinema, who was particularly remembered for his patriotic zeal, which was also reflected in his films.”
“Manoj Ji’s works ignited a spirit of national pride and will continue to inspire generations. My thoughts are with his family and admirers in this hour of grief. Om Shanti,” he added.
Check out the post here:
Deeply saddened by the passing of legendary actor and filmmaker Shri Manoj Kumar Ji. He was an icon of Indian cinema, who was particularly remembered for his patriotic zeal, which was also reflected in his films. Manoj Ji's works ignited a spirit of national pride and will… pic.twitter.com/f8pYqOxol3
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 4, 2025
Manoj Kumar was reportedly admitted to the hospital after suffering heart-related complications. According to the hospital’s medical certificate, the secondary cause of death was decompensated liver cirrhosis.
Actor Akshay Kumar also took to X to share a tribute for Manoj Kumar, saying, “I grew up learning from him that there’s no emotion like love and pride for our country. And if we actors won’t take the lead in showing this emotion, who will? Such a fine person, and one of the biggest assets of our fraternity. RIP Manoj Sir. Om Shanti.”
Check out Akshay Kumar’s post below:
I grew up learning from him that there’s no emotion like love and pride for our country. And if we actors won’t take the lead in showing this emotion, who will? Such a fine person, and one of the biggest assets of our fraternity. RIP Manoj Sir. Om Shanti pic.twitter.com/sr8U4Wkqgq
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) April 4, 2025
For the unversed, Manoj Kumar was best known for his patriotic films such as ‘Shaheed’ (1965), ‘Upkar’ (1967), and ‘Purab Aur Paschim’ (1970). He was conferred the Padma Shri in 1992 for his contributions to the Hindi film industry.
He was later awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2015. Known as ‘Bharat Kumar’, he also made a mark with cult classics like 'Hariyali Aur Raasta', 'Woh Kaun Thi', 'Himalaya Ki God Mein', 'Do Badan', 'Patthar Ke Sanam', 'Neel Kamal', and 'Kranti'.
For the uninitiated, Manoj Kumar was born in present-day Pakistan. His birth name was Harikrishan Giri Goswami. In addition to being an actor, Manoj Kumar was also a filmmaker.
In an interview with Rediff.com, Manoj Kumar had earlier stated, “I never intended to be a director in the first place. I became one by default when during Shaheed I had to direct the film unofficially. Then Lal Bahadur Shastri raised the slogan of Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. That’s how I made Upkar.”
As per Hindustan Times, Manoj Kumar’s mortal remains will be kept at his Juhu residence from Friday afternoon so that industry colleagues and fans can pay their final respects. Cremation will most likely take place on Saturday.
According to several reports, the cause of his death was identified as cardiogenic shock due to acute myocardial infarction, a severe heart attack. The reports also confirmed that Manoj Kumar had been battling decompensated liver cirrhosis in the past few months.
