He played roles in films like "Sholay", "Shaukeen", "Namak Haram", "Aaina", "Avtaar", "Arjun", "Aandhi", "Kora Kagaz", "Bawarchi", "Chitchor", "Guddi", "Abhimaan", "Anamika" and "Parichay".
He was also a regular in Rajesh Khanna's starrers like "Aap Ki Kasam", "Amar Deep", "Naukri", "Thodisi Bewafaii" and "Phir Wohi Raat".
Playing the role of Rahim Chacha in "Sholay", he uttered those famous words, "Itna sannata kyon hai, bhai."
In his autobiography "The Life and Time of A K Hangal", he recounted how he ended up joining films and how he struggled to shake off his 'gentleman' image in Bollywood though without much success.
"I never had ambitions about pursuing a career in films and was quite content with my amateur theatre work... Circumstances pulled me into the film world, though I am not unhappy because of it. Here, I mingled with people from completely different sphere, called 'Show Business', and even after many years in it, sometimes I feel like an outsider," he wrote.
Born as Avtaar Veenit Kishan Hangal into a Kashmiri Pandit family in Peshawar, he was an active member of the Communist party there while working as a tailor. He actively participated in union activities and was arrested.
Hangal moved to Bombay in 1949 after spending two years in Pakistan prison. He came in the city of dreams at the age of 21 with Rs 20 in his pocket. (MORE)