Dilip Kumar discharged, Saira Banu asks fans to pray for his health

Acting legend Dilip Kumar was discharged from a hospital here on Friday, five days after he was hospitalised due to episodes of breathlessness.

The 98-year-old screen icon was admitted to suburban Khar-based Hinduja Hospital, a non-COVID-19 facility, on Sunday.

"With the blessings and prayers of all of you, Dilip Sahab is going to his home from hospital. Your immense love and affection always touches the heart of Sahab, a post on the official Twitter handle of Kumar read.

The tweet was shared by the cinema icon's family friend, Faisal Farooqui.

The veteran was diagnosed with bilateral pleural effusion -- a build-up of excess fluid between the layers of the pleura outside the lungs and underwent a successful pleural aspiration procedure on Wednesday.

Kumar's wife, veteran actor Saira Banu said doctors have advised him to continue to take antibiotics.

"The fluid has been removed and he took a rest in the hospital for few days. Now we are going home. Pray for his good health and pray that he should he alright," Banu told reporters after the actor was discharged from the hospital at around 12:45 PM.

"Doctors have said that he should continue to have antibiotics through IV. You all please pray for his health," she added.

Kumar was initially supposed to be discharged on Thursday but the family and the doctors decided to let him rest in the medical facility for another day.

The Hindi cinema veteran, whose career spans over five decades with hits like "Mughal-e-Azam", "Devdas", "Naya Daur", and "Ram Aur Shyam", was admitted to the same hospital last month for a regular health check-up.

Kumar's last big screen appearance was the 1998 film "Qila.