Pankaj Dheer passes away at 68, ‘Mahabharat’s Karna’ remembered

Mumbai, October 15: Actor Pankaj Dheer, remembered by millions as Karna from B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat, passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday after a long fight with cancer. He was 68.

The Cine & TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) confirmed his death early this morning, calling it a “deep personal loss for the television fraternity.” His cremation will take place later today at 4:30 pm near Pawan Hans, Vile Parle (West). Family, colleagues, and fans are expected to gather to say goodbye to a man who, for many, was Karna proud, wounded, and noble to the end.

The Actor Who Gave Karna a Soul

When Mahabharat aired on Doordarshan in the late 1980s, it was more than a television show. It was a Sunday ritual that emptied streets and silenced markets. And in that ritual, Pankaj Dheer’s Karna stood apart. His voice, his restraint, and that quiet dignity it all turned a mythological warrior into something heartbreakingly human.

“He made you feel for Karna,” recalls a senior television critic once. “Not as a hero or a villain, but as a man trapped between loyalty and destiny.”

That role nearly didn’t happen. As The Economic Times reported, Dheer originally auditioned for Arjun, but refused to shave his moustache. “It was a stupid thing to do,” he admitted years later, laughing at himself. “But maybe destiny knew better.” It did. The moustache stayed, and so did one of Indian television’s most enduring performances.

More Than Just One Role

To younger viewers, Dheer might be “that actor from Mahabharat.” But his career stretched across three decades of television and film, from fantasy shows like Chandrakanta to late-night horror episodes on Zee Horror Show. He played kings, villains, cops, and occasionally the calm father who steadies a crumbling family.

He appeared in films such as Soldier, Baadshah, Tahalka, and Sadak, and later became a familiar face on TV again through shows like Sasural Simar Ka and Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev. Those who worked with him describe a man of discipline, punctual to a fault, deeply respectful, and generous with advice.

“He didn’t behave like a star,” a co-actor once said. “He behaved like a theatre man prepared, focused, and quietly proud of the work.”

That discipline came from his early theatre roots. Even when television moved toward fast shoots and soap-opera hysteria, he insisted on rehearsing. “The camera may forgive you,” he once told a young director, “but the audience never does.”

A Battle Fought in Silence

According to Mint, Dheer had been undergoing treatment for cancer for several years. There were surgeries, brief recoveries, and moments when it looked like he’d beaten it. But the illness returned earlier this year.

Despite that, he kept working quietly and stayed away from public sympathy. Friends told The Times of India he didn’t want his illness to define him. “He hated being asked, ‘How are you holding up?’” said one. “He’d smile and say, ‘Still standing, like Karna.’”

He is survived by his wife Anita Dheer and his son Nikitin Dheer, who followed him into acting. Nikitin played Ravan in Ramayan, another misunderstood epic character, and his father had said in an interview that watching him in that role felt “like the story had come full circle.”

More Than Nostalgia

When the pandemic lockdowns brought old Doordarshan shows back to TV in 2020, Mahabharat returned to homes, and so did Pankaj Dheer’s Karna. For younger viewers seeing him for the first time, there was a surprise in how modern his performance felt.

He wasn’t the loud or theatrical mythological figure many expected. There was depth in his pauses, grief in his eyes. He played Karna as a man who knew he was doomed but still chose to stand tall.

Dheer often said in interviews that Karna taught him how to live. “You do your duty,” he once said, “and you accept that not everything will go your way. That’s life. That’s Karna.”

The End of an Era

The news of his passing has sent a wave of nostalgia and sadness through the industry. His Mahabharat co-star Mukesh Khanna called him “a brother, not just in the epic but in real life.” Members of the Chopra family, who produced Mahabharat, remembered him as “the actor who carried Karna’s dignity beyond the screen.”

Social media is flooded with tributes. Younger actors, many of whom grew up watching him, are calling him “the gentleman of television.” Some have shared old stills from Mahabharat, that unmistakable image of Karna on his chariot, head held high, defying fate.

A Gentle Goodbye

Those who knew Pankaj Dheer say he never chased fame. He believed in good work, quiet pride, and long friendships. His home in Mumbai reportedly held shelves full of mythological books and scripts and a small replica of Karna’s armor, gifted by B.R. Chopra himself.

Even in his later years, fans would stop him on the street and call out “Karna ji!” He never corrected them. “If a role can give you a name that people remember with love,” he once said, “you’ve already won the only award that matters.”

As his family prepares for his final rites this evening, the industry pauses to remember the man who turned myth into memory and gave Indian television one of its most unforgettable faces.

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Ayesha Khan

Entertainment Correspondent – Ayesha@hindustanherald.in – Web

Covers films, television, streaming, and celebrity culture with a focus on storytelling trends.

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