Veteran film journalist Ali Peter John died in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday, the Times of India reported. The cause of death was not known. 

Ali Peter John, who was in his 70s at the time of death, worked as a journalist with Screen for almost 40 years during which he interviewed several stars and authored multiple books. He was also associated with Mumbai Mirror. 

In 2014, he launched his book ‘Witnessing Wonders.’ The event was attended by several Bollywood stars including Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. 

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In 2016, he met with a major road accident. A tanker ran over one of his legs, completely crushing his toe. He was admitted to Nanavati hospital and had to get his toe amputated. According to reports, actor Shah Rukh Khan offered to cover the surgery cost.

In February last year, Anupam Kher took to Instagram to share a snippet of his conversation with the Ali Peter John, who he called his friend and mentor. The actor revealed that the first-ever article written about him was penned by the journalist. 

“He (Ali Peter John) had watched my play #DesireUnderTheElsm and loved it. His famous column Ali’s Notes in the weekly #Screen was extremely popular. We have been friends since then and he has stood by me through thick and thin. It was a wonderful feeling to welcome him at my school @actorprepares and present him a copy of my book #YourBestDayIsToday,” he captioned the video. 

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Following Ali Peter John’s death, several celebrities took to social media to pay tributes. 

“Thank you for your long service to Entertainment journalism sir,” Vicky Kaushal wrote. 

“Today, our industry loses one of our senior most journalists. Ali Peter John was always very kind and supportive of me once I became an actor and I remember seeing him around since I was a child. Rest in Peace,” Abhishekh Bachchan tweeted.