Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra lead film industry’s tributes for former PM

Actors such as Amitabh Bachchan Rajinikanth, Randeep Hooda and Dhanush led the film industry’s tributes for former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died in Delhi on Thursday.

bollywood Updated: Aug 16, 2018 20:18 IST
In this file photo taken on June 01, 1999, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee looks on during a function at his residence in New Delhi. (AFP)

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first non-Congress leader to serve a full term in power, died on Thursday, the Delhi hospital where he was admitted said in a statement. He had been put on life support after his condition deteriorated in the last 36 hours.

Several personalities from the world of films mourned his death . Actors Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi and Dhanush tweeted their condolences minutes after former prime minister’s death was announced. Others who wrote fondly about Vajpayee include the iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar, and actors Boman Irani and Randeep Hooda, who shared a poem on Twitter. They praised Vajpayee’s openness, the admiration he received even from his critics and his skills as an orator and poet.

“I’m saddened to hear the demise of a great statesman Shri.Vajpayee ji. May his soul rest in peace,” wrote Rajinikanth. “The nation will always remember (his visionary ideas and contributions),” wrote Priyanka.

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Vajpayee, 93, one of the founder members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), served as prime minister for 13 days in 1996, 13 months (1998-99) at the head of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and then for a full five year term (1999-2004).

He had announced his retirement from electoral politics in 2005 and withdrew further from public life in 2009 after suffering a stroke that weakened his cognitive abilities. Subsequently, he developed dementia.

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First Published: Aug 16, 2018 20:17 IST