New Delhi: Veteran actor Pankaj Dheer, best known for playing Karna in BR Chopra’s 1988 TV series Mahabharat, died on Wednesday at the age of 68.
The actor was cremated at 4:30 pm at the Pawan Hans crematorium in Santa Cruz, where many colleagues and well-wishers from the film and television fraternity came to pay their last respects.
Bollywood star Sidharth Malhotra attended the funeral to pay tribute to the veteran actor. He was seen wearing a white shirt and denim jeans.
Singer Mika Singh was also present on this occasion and looked very emotional. Filmmaker duo Abbas-Mustan attended the funeral wearing white, while Salman Khan arrived amid tight security to pay tribute to his late friend.
Puneet Issar, who played the role of Duryodhana in Mahabharata, was seen at Dheer’s Mumbai residence and expressed his condolences to the family. Other co-stars from the show including Deep Dhillon (Jayadratha), Surendra Pal (Dronacharya), and Feroz Khan (Arjun) were also seen at the funeral.
Actor Shahbaz Khan, best known for playing Prince Virendra Vikram Singh in Chandrakanta, also attended the funeral.
Actors Jaya Bhattacharya, Mukesh Rishi, Kushal Tandon, BN Tiwari (President, FWICE), and Sushant Singh (Honorary Secretary, CINTAA) were also among those who came to pay tribute to him.
Television couple Deepika Kakkar and Shoaib Ibrahim were also present.
Pankaj Dheer’s son, actor Nikitin Dheer, was seen crying while accompanying the ambulance carrying his father’s body to the final resting place.
Also read: Pankaj Dheer passes away: Mahabharata’s Karna and popular actor suffering from cancer, passes away at the age of 68
Pankaj Dheer passes away
Veteran actor Pankaj Dheer, who became famous for his role of Karna in Mahabharata, died of cancer on Wednesday at the age of 68.
The Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) issued a statement confirming the news of his demise:
“With deep sorrow and deep sorrow, we inform you of the demise of Shri Pankaj Dhir ji, former Chairman of our Trust and former Honorable General Secretary of CINTAA, on 15th October 2025. His last rites will be performed today at 4:30 pm next to Pawan Hans, Vile Parle (West), Mumbai.”
Apart from Mahabharat, Dheer acted in popular TV shows like Chandrakanta, The Great Maratha, Yug and Badho Bahu. He also appeared in several Bollywood films, including Sadak, Soldier and Badshah.
He played the lead role in the first episode of Dastak and appeared with Archana Puran Singh in Zee Horror Show (1993). He also starred in a courtroom drama series Kanoon.
In 2006, Pankaj Dhir, along with his brother Satluj Dhir, founded Visage Studios, a shooting studio in Jogeshwari, Mumbai. Later, in 2010, he opened the Abhinay Acting Academy in Mumbai, with actor Gufi Paintal serving as the faculty head.
Pankaj Dheer was married to Anita Dheer and the couple had two children. His son Nikitin Dheer is also an actor and is married to TV star Krutika Sengar. Nikitin has appeared in films like Chennai Express, Jodha Akbar and Suryavanshi.