No actor had more impact on modern style of acting than Dilip Kumar, who passed away at the age of 98 in Mumbai today. Hailed as the "Tragedy King", he left his fans, followers and family in a state of shock that was more associated with his brand of acting.

Born as Mohammed Yousuf Khan on 11th December 1922 in Peshawar, he changed his name to Dilip Kumar when he entered films, and went on to rule the hearts of people around the world with his natural acting. The title 'Tragedy King' came from his abundance of serious roles during the early part of his career. In most of the films like Devdas and Deedar, he didn't get the girl, and it was a known fact that when his character died in a film, the audience loved it the most.

Be it playing a frustrated lover, a drunkard or an elderly statesman, Dilip Kumar excelled in all for he was Bollywood's first and so far only Method actor who could identify with his character's emotions.

Dilip Kumar was unwell for quite some time and was hospitalized twice last month after he complained of breathlessness. His death was announced by his family earlier today "with a heavy heart and profound grief".

Dilip Kumar was amongst the few actors who continued to give hits despite their advancing age and changing era. If his films 'Jwar Bhata', 'Jugnu' and 'Shaheed' did well in the 1940s, he was on top of his game with 'Deedar', 'Aan', 'Devdas' and 'Madhumati' in the 1950s. He began the 1960s with a supporting role in 'Mughal-e-Azam' and captured the era with countless hits like 'Ganga Jumna', 'Leader', 'Ram Aur Shyam' and 'Aadmi' to name a few.

He took a break in the 1970s but had 'Gopi' and 'Bairaag' to his credit, which featured him in a triple role. He returned to the fore in the 1980s with powerful performances in 'Kranti', 'Vidhaata', 'Shakti', 'Duniya', 'Mashaal' followed by 'Karma'. He carried the torch in the 1990s as well with 'Izzatdaar' and 'Saudagar' before bidding farewell to acting with 'Qila' in 1988.

He acted in over 60 films in a career that spanned over six decades and played opposite a variety of co-stars including Madhubala, Nargis, Nimmi, Meena Kumari, Kamini Kaushal and Vyjanthimala.

He married fellow actres Saira Banu in 1966 and she stayed by his side till death did them apart. He won countless awards for his acting but the biggest of them all was 'Dadasaheb Phalke' award, the highest honor for contributions to Indian cinema which he received in 1994.

Many celebrities including those who followed Dilip Kumar's brand of acting also paid tribute to the legendary actor, including Amitabh Bachchan who had the honor of sharing the screen with him in Shakti during the 80s.

Our very own Shahid Afridi also paid his respects to the veteran actor!