Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, 90 was hospitalised late on Sunday evening after he suffered from a heart attack.

Sources in Lilavati Hospital where he was admitted said that he was complaining of pain in the chest and breathlessness.

Kumar was wheeled into the intensive care unit (ICU) of Lilavati Hospital in Bandra West at around 9 pm.

"He is aging and has suffered from massive heart attack of the inferior wall," said a source in the hospital.

The actor has been admitted under the care of cardiologist Dr Nitin Gokhale on the 6th floor in the Intensive Care Unit.

"He is not on ventilator and is conscious," said the source.

"Inferior wall heart attacks are of severe type, " said a doctor. The inferior wall of the heart is above the diaphragm and close to the spine.

"The attack happens when a portion of the heart is cut off of blood supply. Blood supply to the arteries supplying blood to inferior wall can occur due to deposition of fat plaque. Inferior wall is smaller in size hence the impact is huge. Such attacks happen due to multiple reasons including ageing. Surgery might not be a viable option at such an old age and therefore treating doctors might opt for conservative treatment with drugs," said Dr Narendra Bansal, head of cardiology at state-run JJ Hospital in Byculla.

Dilip Kumar was born Muhammad Yusuf Khan on December 11, 1922, in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) and his acting career spanned six decades and over 60 films.

He was the first to receive Filmfare Best Actor honour when the awards were started in 1954 and, with eight wins, shares with Shah Rukh Khan the record for the most number of Filmfare awards won in that category.

He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

He was also nominated to Rajya Sabha for a term from 2000 to 2006.

In 1998, he was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award conferred by the government of Pakistan.