Veteran actor Mushtaq Khan was laid to rest in Mumbai on Friday, with several members of the film fraternity arriving to pay their last respects. His son, Mohsin Khan, revealed that the actor’s illness had progressed rapidly but said he remained cheerful until the end.
During his conversation with ANI, he also remembered the actor’s final days and urged fans and colleagues to celebrate his life, work and legacy rather than mourn his death alone.
“Yes. For the past little while, he was dealing with an illness... Well, he wasn't distressed at all, because his end came with a smile. But yes, he had cancer. It was initially at stage one, but as it became aggressive, it advanced through the stages so fast that even we couldn't realise it in time. And by the time it was detected, he was no longer with us in this world. But his end came with a smile on his face,” Mohsin
said.
Recalling his final conversation with his father, Mohsin said the actor was happy and proud of the life he had lived.
“During the last conversation I had with him, he was very happy. He was smiling and said, 'I am so happy to have come into this world. Whatever work I did, hopefully it reached the people', which it indeed did, and he felt immense, immense pride to have been born in our beloved India. That was his final feeling,” he said.
Mohsin also made an emotional appeal to people, remembering the actor, saying his father’s work and famous dialogues should continue to be celebrated.
“This is definitely a time of sorrow, but looking at the positive side, first, his end came with a smile. And most importantly, my request to all of you is that we celebrate him, because even today you are remembering his famous dialogues and his finest work,” he said.