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Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, famed for his romantic roles, has died of cancer aged 67, BBC News reports.

He was part of the Kapoor acting dynasty which has long dominated Bollywood, the Hindi film industry.

The actor made a huge splash in 1973 with his first lead role in Bobby - a teenage love story.

He played the romantic lead in dozens of films for over two decades, after which he made a successful transition to character roles.

Rishi Kapoor debuted as a child actor in 1970 in his father Raj Kapoor's film, Mera Naam Joker.

Several of his films in the 1980s and 90s - Khel Khel Mein, Karz and Chandni - became massive box office hits.

He was a skilful dancer and some of his films had songs that are massively popular even today.

Kapoor made a successful on-screen pair with actress Neetu Singh. In one of Bollywood's most enduring love stories, they took that romance off-screen as well when they got married in 1980.

Rishi Kapoor also worked in several multi-starrers with Amitabh Bachchan and his uncle Shashi Kapoor.

He had a second coming in this decade, doing character roles and appearing in some interesting cameos in small films.

The news he had lost his battle with cancer came a day after the death of Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan.

Kapoor was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018 and returned to India last September after a year-long course of treatment in New York.

He was taken to hospital on Wednesday morning after he complained of breathing difficulties, his brother Randhir Kapoor told the Press Trust of India.

The actor's family confirmed his death in a message saying his life had ended peacefully.