New Delhi, April 4 -- Manoj Kumar, the Bollywood actor and filmmaker, renowned for his patriotic films, passed away at the age of 87 at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. Popularly known as 'Bharat Kumar,' Manoj Kumar was an exceptional director and actor who was honoured with National Film Award. He also received the Padma Shri in 1992 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2015, which is the highest award in field of Indian cinema presented annually by the Government of India to recognise outstanding contributions.

Reacting to the news of Manoj Kumar's death, filmmaker Ashoke Pandit said, "The legendary Dadasaheb Phalke award winner, our inspiration and the 'lion' of the Indian film industry, Manoj Kumar Ji is no more...It is a great...