"I lost my ustad - Ustad Sultan Khan, my guru my friend my idol. He passed away this afternoon. We will never have a sarangi maestro like him," tweeted music composer-singer Salim Merchant.
Music composer Sulaiman Merchant said, "We lost one of the finest sarangi players today. Ustaad Sultan Khan succumbed to his illness this afternoon. May god rest his soul in peace."
Among other musicians who condoled the death of the Padma Bhushan awardee were music director Vishal Dadlani, and singers Shreya Ghoshal, Abhijeet Sawant and Shaan.
"Just heard about the loss of our dear Ustad sultan khan Sa`ab :( I had the gr8 fortune and honour of working with him. Too saddened(sic)," Ghoshal tweeted.
"RIP Ustad sultan khan Sahab (sic)," Sawant said.
"Shocked...really sad...Khansaab no more," singer Shaan tweeted.
"Ustad Sultan Khan Saab, RIP. A legend and a true musician," Dadlani said.
Actors Akshay Kumar, Rahul Bose and Dia Mirza too expressed grief on twitter.
"Renowned sarangi player and singer Ustad Sultan Khan passed away today. This has not been a good year what with so many great personalities leaving us. My thoughts and prayers with his family. RIP Ustad saab," Akshay said.
"V v saddened to hear abt ustad sultan khan saab`s demise. He played on the soundtrack of my directorial feature, `Everybody Says I`m Fine!` Ustad sultan khan saab had a huge heart & an impish sense of humour(sic)," recalled Bose.
"He sang well too! Listen to him on the soundtrack of `Mr and Mrs Iyer`," he added.
"Ustad Sultan Khan Saab our most revered sarangi player...your rich legacy will live on. RIP," Mirza said.