Bollywood actor and writer Kader Khan passed away on Monday night after a prolonged illness in Canada, his son Sarfraz Khan confirmed. He was 81 years old.

“My dad has left us. He passed away on December 31 at 6pm as per Canadian time due to prolonged illness. He slipped into coma in the afternoon. He was in the hospital for 16-17 weeks.” Sarfraz told Press Trust of India.

“The last rites will be performed here in Canada only. We have our entire family here and we live here so we are doing it. We are thankful to everyone for their blessings and prayers,” he added.

According to reports, Khan was suffering from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a degenerative disease that causes loss of balance, difficulty in walking and dementia. He had developed breathing issues and the doctors had reportedly transferred him from regular ventilator to BiPAP ventilator.

Born in Kabul, Khan made his acting debut in 1973 with Rajesh Khanna’s Daag and featured in over 300 films. He wrote dialogues for over 250 movies. Before becoming an actor, he had written dialogues for Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bachchan’s Jawani Diwani.

Khan went from playing the role of a villain in films like Farz Aur Kanoon, Jeeo Aur Jeene Do, Naya Kadam and Qaidi to winning hearts with his comic timing in Hum, Bol Radha Bol, Aunty No 1 among others.