Film actor Ajit dead

HYDERABAD, Oct 21 (UNI) — Veteran film actor Ajit, one of the most well-known villains in Hindi cinema, died following a massive heart attack here this evening. He was 76.

He is survived by his wife and three sons.

He had acted in more than 100 films, mainly as villain, during the past four decades.

His famous dialogues were "Mona darling" in "Yadon ki Barat" and "Lilly don't be silly" in "Zanjeer". Ajit's other well-known films were "Naya Daur", "Nastik" and "Shikari'.

Originally known as Hamid Ali Khan, Ajit was a son of the personal driver of Nizam Osman Ali Khan. He had almost stopped acting in films since 1981 after he underwent a bypass surgeryin the USA. Recently, he acted in the film "Jagir" after much persuasion from the producer.

In his four decades of film career, Ajit had acted along with the legendary Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Sohrab Modi, Amitabh Bachchan, I.S. Johar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, and Dharmendra.

Ajit, who ran away from home to Mumbai after selling his college books, started his film career in the early 40s.

Luck did not favour him in the initial stages of his career. "Dholak", in which he made his debut as a hero, flopped. But lady luck smiled on him after "Mughal-e-Azam".

In the mid seventies Ajit had acted in over 57 films mostly as villain.