Mahabharat actor Pankaj Dheer has passed away after a battle with cancer. Co-star Mukesh Khanna fondly remembered their time on the iconic BR Chopra show, highlighting Dheer’s dedication and unique preparation for the role of Karna, despite not having read the original epic. Khanna also shared Dheer’s early struggles in the industry.
Pankaj Dheer left for his heavenly abode on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. His Mahabharat co-star Mukesh Khanna recently remnisced working with him on the sets of the BR Chopra show.
Mukesh recalls Pankaj’s sudden demise
In a video, Mukesh said that Pankaj’s death “was a sudden one.” He recalled interviewing the actor for his podcast about a year ago. Mukesh remembered having to convince Pankaj to sit for the podcast, as the late actor wasn’t interested at the time in “talk[ing] about the past and Mahabharat.” However, he eventually agreed. Mukesh also shared that he reached out to Pankaj a few months ago for another interview, but the actor refused, and that’s when he learned about his ill health.
Memories from Mahabharat
He shared, “I had initially thought that I would play the role of Karna or Arjun, but God left me to play Bhishma where I saw ‘Ayushman Bhava’ all the time and I am living with that image till now, and then Pankaj came in front of me with the role of Karna.”Elaborating further, Khanna added, “Pankaj Dheer began his career as an assistant director on my first film Roohi, earning just Rs 300 a month at the time as an assistant director. I remember him working very honestly and energetically on set of the film. His way of speaking was also very good, he spoke in a very stylised way. I worked with him again in Saugandh and Pandav. He used to call me MK, he loved food and he spoke very nicely. He also dressed very well.”
Struggles despite film background
The Shaktimaan actor also revealed that despite Dheer’s father being from the film industry, the actor went through a lot of hardships. “Although his father was also associated with the film industry, Pankaj has struggled in the industry. He faced many hardships. Over time, many of our Mahabharat co-stars — like Gufi Paintal (Shakuni) and Praveen Kumar (Bheem) — have passed away. And now, Pankaj Dheer too,” he said.
The Mahabharat and his unique preparation
“The most remarkable thing was that he had never actually read the Mahabharat.” He went on to say, “He hadn’t read the real Mahabharat, he had read Mrityunjay, which was from the point of view of Karna. So, he found many scenes missing in the BR Chopra’s Mahabharat according to what he had read. He often felt like he didn’t get this scene or that scene.” He added, “I used jokingly call him convent Pandav because he hadn’t read the real Mahabharat. But his performance was so brilliant,” he concluded. Pankaj Dheer is survived by his wife, Anita Dheer, a costume designer, his son Nikitin Dheer, and daughter-in-law Kratika Sengar. Go to Source
