MEERUT: Celebrated Hindi novelist and scriptwriter Ved Prakash Sharma died late on Friday night in Shastri Nagar here. The 61-year-old had been fighting lung cancer for the last eleven months and had developed complications which led to his demise at around 11pm on Friday. His last rites were performed at the cremation house in Soorajkund on Saturday morning.Sharma wrote 176 novels – some of which were adapted into successful films like "Bahu Maange Insaaf" (1985), "Anaam" (1992) and "Sabse Bada Khiladi" (1995). One of his books, "Wardiwala Gunda" (1992) broke all records and sold 15 lakh copies on the very first day of its release. Sharma also wrote the script for Akshay Kumar-starrer "International Khiladi" (1999).Talking to TOI, Shagun Sharma , Sharma’s son, said, "He was diagnosed with lung cancer in March last year. We detected it at quite an advanced stage. He was being treated in Mumbai for the same but problems started last month, post which he was mostly bed ridden. He breathed his last on Friday. We were all with him." Ved Prakash Sharma is survived by his wife Madhu Sharma, son Shagun Sharma, daughters Karishma, Garima and Khushboo – all three settled in Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr and Meerut respectively.At Sharma’s residence in Shastri Nagar, people kept coming in all day to pay their last respects to the celebrated author. "We have been getting calls from outside the country too. We’re shocked but are also overwhelmed at the love people had for him," said Sharma’s son-in-law Gaurav.Ved Prakash Sharma, who has a lot of pulp fiction stories to his credit, was born on June 10, 1955 in Meerut and went on to do his graduation from NAS Degree College, Meerut. Sharma, who started writing at the age of 16, did not get credit for his work initially as publishers were skeptical about publishing works under the name of a newcomer. After a dozen books that went to print without his name, Sharma finally got his first book in 1973 titled ‘Dahekte Shaher’, udner his name. He also had his own publishing house-Tulsi Books Publications- which prints novels and course books."His only wish in life has been to see his books spreading some cheer in society. We will ensure that his legacy is carried on and he remains alive in the form of his writings," said a teary-eyed Shagun.