Bollywood / Veteran actor Yusuf Hussain passes away

Mumbai: Veteran actor Yusuf Hussain died of COVID-19 at the age of 73 on Saturday. He was being treated at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital, where he died this morning, his son-in-law and filmmaker Hansal Mehta told news agency PTI. Yusuf Hussain's death has left his family and friends in the film fraternity heartbroken. Hansal Mehta, who is married to Yusuf Hussain's daughter Safeena, mourned his father-in-law in an emotional Instagram post. He shared a photo of Yusuf Hussain and wrote about how the late actor helped him to complete his 2012 film Shahid, featuring Rajkummar Rao, when he was "troubled" and his "non-existent career as a filmmaker was almost finished completely." Hansal Mehta shared that Yusuf Hussain was like a father to him.

In his emotional tribute to his father-in-law, Hansal Mehta wrote: "I had completed 2 schedules of Shahid. And we were stuck. I was troubled. A non-existent career as a filmmaker was almost finished completely. He just came up to me and said I have a fixed deposit and it is of no use to me if you are so troubled. He wrote a cheque. Shahid was completed. That was Yusuf Husain. Not my father-in-law but a father."

He added: "He was life - if life itself had to have a physical form. Today he is gone. To remind all those women in heaven that they are 'Duniya ki sabse khubsurat ladki' and all the men that they are 'Haseen naujwaan'. And then to end with a booming 'love you love you love you'. Yusuf Saab I owe this new life to you. I am truly orphaned today. Life will never be the same. I will miss you terribly. My Urdu will remain broken. And yes - love you love you love you!"

Actors like Abhishek Bachchan and Manoj Bajpayee also mourned Yusuf Hussain on Twitter. Abhishek, who worked with the late actor in the 2003 film Kuch Naa Kaho and forthcoming movie Bob Biswas, tweeted: "#RIP Yusuf ji. We worked together in several films starting with Kuch na kaho and lastly on Bob Biswas. He was gentle, kind and full of warmth. Condolences to his family."

"Sad News!!! Condolences to Safeena and Hansal Mehta and the entire family!!! Rest in peace Yusuf saab," wrote Manoj Bajpayee.

Actress Pooja Bhatt, in her reply to Hansal Mehta's tweet about his father-in-law, wrote: "This brought tears to my eyes Hansal. Can't begin to imagine what you'll are feeling. My deepest condolences to all!"

Yusuf Hussain was known for featuring in films like Dhoom 2, Raees and Road To Sangam.