Actor Pankaj Dheer, best known for playing the iconic role of Karna in BR Chopra's 1988 TV series Mahabharat, died on Wednesday. He was 68.
Pankaj Dheer, who had been in and out of hospitals in the past months, was battling cancer, sources told NDTV.
Pankaj Dheer's credits also include TV serials such as Chandrakanta, Badho Bahu, Zee Horror Show, Kanoon, and more recently, Sasural Simar Ka, as well as films such as Soldier, Andaz, Baadshah, and Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge.
His wife Anita Dheer is a costume designer and their son Nikitin Dheer is also an actor, known for films such as Chennai Express, Jodhaa Akbar, and Sooryavanshi. His daughter-in-law is actor Kratika Sengar of Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahaani – Jhansi Ki Rani fame.
Pankaj Dheer, who hailed from Punjab, was the son of filmmaker CL Dheer, who directed films such as the Geeta Bali-starrers Bahu Beti and Zindagi.
Besides acting, Pankaj Dheer took the proverbial torch in filmmaking ahead when he co-founded a shooting studio in Mumbai called Visage Studioz with his brother Satluj Dheer. In 2010, the actor set up the Abbhinnay Acting Academy for aspiring actors.
The actor made foray into showbiz in the 1980s, featuring in minor roles in many movies, but it was Mahabharat that made him a household name.
As Mahabharat's Karna, the actor played one of the first anti-heroes on Indian television. The audience was torn between supporting the character as he searched for his identity, challenged class norms, and pursued his quest to become the best warrior in all of Kurukshetra.
While the shadow of Karna loomed large over his career, Pankaj Dheer managed to make another character memorable and that was King Shivdutt of Chunargarh in Chandrakanta, the 1994 serial based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's 1888 novel of the same name.
Much like Karna, his King Shivdutt was also an anti-hero, a king who was a vishpurush (poison-filled man), even his touch, kiss, or scratch could be deadly to others.
On TV, his last stint was Dhruv Tara – Samay Sadi Se Pare (2024). He was also seen in the 2019 web series Poison.
Pankaj Dheer's last rites will be held at the Pawan Hans crematorium in Mumbai's Santa Cruz suburb at 4 pm today.
