Longtime Bollywood actor and federal government minister Sunil Dutt has died of a

Indian Minister of Sports Sunil Dutt looks on during a goodwill meeting held for the Indian wrestlers (File photo - Aug. 5, 2004)

heart attack at the age of 75.

Colleagues said he had been very ill for several days.

Mr. Dutt was a popular politician and movie actor, who was elected to parliament five times by his local Bombay (also known as Mumbai) constituency. He was currently serving as Sports Minister in India's Congress-led government.

He appeared in numerous Bollywood blockbuster films starting in the 1950s in an acting career that continued to the present day. He met his wife, Nargis Dutt, who died in 1981, while filming the 1956 movie Mother India which became the first Indian film nominated for an Oscar. He later directed several films.

Indian politicians, Bollywood actors and thousands of fans turned out for his funeral in Bombay Wednesday. Mr. Dutt is survived by his popular Bollywood actor son, Sanjay Dutt, and two daughters.

Some information for tis report provided by AP and AFP.