Veteran action director Veeru Devgan dead

Bollywood's veteran action director Veeru Devgan, father of actor Ajay Devgn, died here on Monday, family sources said. He was 85.

Veeru Devgan breathed his last on Monday afternoon at a hospital here due to age-related issues, according to a source.

Apart from directing action sequences for films like "Himmatwala", "Mr. India", "Khatron Ke Khiladi", "Phool Aur Kaante", "Dilwale" and "Laal Badshah", he had directed the 1999 film "Hindustan Ki Kasam", starring Ajay and megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

Film fraternity members Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Sajid Khan, Mahesh Bhatt and Harry Baweja visted the Devgan residence to pay condolences.

The funeral will be held here at the Vile Parle West Crematorium on Monday evening.

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta said he was really "saddened to hear about Veeru Devganji".

"I had the honour and pleasure of working with him in my (early) days as an assistant director. He was a fabulous human being and a master technician who always had a smile on his face. May God bless his soul," he tweeted.

Filmmaker Anees Bazmee, who worked with Veeru Devgan in the 1997 film "Sanam", tweeted: "My heartfelt condolences to Ajay, Kajol and the family. There will be no better action director than you Veeruji. Will miss you."

Veteran actor Anupam Kher wrote: "Deeply saddened to know about the passing away of Veeru Devganji. Worked with him in so many movies. He was a great action director. To him, the safety of actors and his fighters team was of utmost importance. A kind man with a great sense of humour."

"Sad to know that veteran action director Veeru Devganji is no more. He was a genius in choreographing fights on the big screen when there were no facilities available. My heartfelt condolences to Ajay Devgn and the entire family," filmmaker Ashoke Pandit tweeted.

"RIP Veeru Devganji. A legend of Hindi cinema. Left his mark at a time when 'pure action' without VFX was the order of the day. Heartfelt condolences to Ajay Devgn and Kajol. May his soul rest in peace," Kunal Kohli wrote.

--IANS

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