Pankaj Dheer: The Immortal Karna of 'Mahabharat' - Biography & Definitive Filmography!

Veteran Indian actor Pankaj Dheer (born November 9, 1956) remains an iconic figure in Indian entertainment, permanently etched in the cultural consciousness as the noble and tragic warrior Karna from B.R. Chopra's legendary television series, Mahabharat (1988).

His powerful and dignified portrayal of the Suryaputra has achieved a level of public reverence rarely seen in television history, with his image even being used in school textbooks as a reference for the character. Dheer's impactful career spanned television, film, direction, and acting mentorship, leaving an unforgettable legacy.

The Role That Defined a Career: Karna

Pankaj Dheer's journey to becoming Karna is a celebrated piece of Bollywood folklore.

• Destiny’s Turn: Dheer was initially cast as Arjuna in the Mahabharat series. However, he was reluctant to shave his signature moustache for Arjuna's Brihannala disguise, leading to the cancellation of his contract.
• The Iconic Casting: A few months later, B.R. Chopra called him back to offer him the role of Karna, a character that required a majestic, bearded look. Dheer accepted, and the rest is history. His intense and emotionally resonant performance transformed Karna from a supporting character into one of the most beloved and sympathetic figures of the epic.
• Worshipped Legacy: The public's devotion to his performance is profound; statues modeled after his appearance as Karna are reportedly worshipped in temples in places like Karnal and Bastar, a rare tribute to an actor.

Pankaj Dheer: Biography and Personal Life

Born in Punjab, India, Pankaj Dheer's life was closely connected to the film industry. He is the son of director C.L. Dheer.

• Family: He was married to Anita Dheer and is the father of a successful Bollywood and television actor, Nikitin Dheer, who is known for playing imposing antagonist roles in films like Chennai Express and Shershaah. His daughter-in-law is television actress Kratika Sengar.
• Entrepreneurship and Mentorship: Beyond acting, Dheer was an active figure in the industry infrastructure. In 2006, he co-founded Visage Studioz, a production and shooting facility in Mumbai, and later launched the Abbhinnay Acting Academy in 2010.
• Directorial Debut: He stepped into direction with the 2014 film, My Father Godfather.

Select Filmography and Television Roles

Pankaj Dheer demonstrated remarkable versatility across films and serials.

Notable Television Roles

Year	Serial	Role	Notes
1988–1990	Mahabharat	Karna	The role that earned him eternal fame.
1994–1996	Chandrakanta	Raja Shivdutt	A popular antagonist role.
1993	Zee Horror Show	Monty / Other Leads	Lead in the debut episode Dastak.
1993	Kanoon	Vijay Saxena	Lead as a defence lawyer.
1994	The Great Maratha	Sadashivrao Bhau
2011–2012	Sasural Simar Ka	Jamnalal Dwivedi	Popular family drama role.
2012–2014	Devon Ke Dev...Mahadev	Himavat (Parvati's father)	Mythological series.
2016–2018	Badho Bahu	Thakur Raghuvir Singh Ahlawat

Key Film Appearances (Actor)

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1991	Sanam Bewafa	Supporting Role
1991	Sadak
1993	Aashik Awara	Ranveer
1998	Soldier	Vijay Malhotra
1999	Baadshah	Chief Security Officer Khanna	With Shah Rukh Khan.
2002	Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge	Shivpratap Singh	With Salman Khan.
2003	Andaaz	Professor Rohit Malhotra
2004	Taarzan: The Wonder Car	Rakesh Kapoor
2013	Gippi	Papaji

Pankaj Dheer’s career, highlighted by his majestic portrayal of Karna, cemented his place as one of the most respected and recognized actors in the history of Indian television.

Soon-to-be-marry couple Kishwer Merchantt and Suyyash Rai share a beautiful card with date of 16th Dec.

The good-looking two, Kishwer Merchantt and Suyyash Rai are ready to tie the knot on 16th of December.

The Duo are all geared up for their much-anticipated marriage. We came across the couple's lovely wedding card on social media. The card is splashed with color of royal blue, giving it a silky look! What we loved that though the design has been kept traditional, the one-liners written over it give a prevue of the love story of the beloved lovers.

While speaking to us, Kishwer had explained on her wedding plans. She had stated of how the two were opting for a court wedding followed by a reception in Mumbai. The actress also had revealed of how she would love to fly off to Paris for their honeymoon.

Lately, the two also had a beautiful pre-wedding shoot done!

TV star Karan Patel’s hot fitness pics on the occasion of his Birth Day!

The well-groomed Karan Patel is one of the most adored actors on TV. Famous for his role as Raman in Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Karan is adored for his onscreen chemistry with his co-star Divyanka Tripathi.

Hyped as the angry young man of TV, Karan is a complete fitness freak at heart and makes sure to hit the gym without fail. It was his onscreen brother Romi aka Aly Goni who introduced him to the world of vigorous fitness and since then there was no looking back.

Bigg Boss 10’s participant Manveer wants to leave the show but Mona tries to console him!

Recall about the ugly fight between Rohan and Manveer. After coming out of the confession room, Manveer takes off his mike and expresses his wish to leave the show. Although Mona tries to explain, Manveer is just not in the mood. Later, Bigg Boss calls him again to the confession room and listens to his grievance and makes him understand. While Manveer expresses his wish of hitting someone, in an act of impulsion, Bigg Boss requests him to be patient. Phir hona kya tha, Manveer smiles and wears his mike.

As part of the task, Bigg Boss gives a chance to the teams to take out four essentials from their containers. To win this, two contestants from each team have to drink a jug full of bitter guard juice. While Lopa and Gaurav participate in the task, Lopa wins the task as she finishes the jug of karela juice first.

Siddharth Nigam to play another historical leader Chhatrapathi Shivaji in TV show Peshwa Bajirao!

After playing the role of the young Ashoka on Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, actor Siddharth Nigam is ready to essay the role of another historic leader. 

According to a close sources, Siddharth will be seen playing the role of Chatrapathi Shivaji in the forthcoming show, Peshwa Bajirao.

To be aired on Sony, the show has also roped in Ravindra Mankani, Pallavi Joshi, Nawab Shah, Manish Wadhwa, Anuja Sathe and Sanjay Batra for significant roles. 

It’s a haldi ceremony for soon-to-be-groom Dheeraj Dhoopar!

Dheeraj Dhoopar and Vinny Arora are all ready to tie knot.

Their Sangeet and Mehndi ceremony that took place in Delhi, was nothing short of a fairy tale marriage. The dapper Dheeraj absolutely must have made a handsome groom considering his fashion sense and charming looks. We exclusively got our hands on the actor's haldi pics wherein he is seen drenched in the holy turmeric. And he is looking so cute.

Dheeraj and Vinny fell in love on the sets of Mata Pita Ke Charno Mein Swarg.

Congratulations to both of you!

BB 10’s participant Lopamudra gives a much-needed advice to Om Swami for Monalisa!

TV’s reality house Bigg Boss 10 keeps getting more and more thrilling as the days go by. In latest episode, Om Swami tries to cross a line. 

During the luxury budget task, Swami will make a few crafty comments against Monalisa while speaking to Lopamudra, about her character. He even says Lopamudra to convey his feelings to Monalisa. 

Lopa will get pissed and will give Swami a much-needed lecture. She says him that what Mona does in her life is up to her and that he is no one to comment on her character. She also tells him to behave himself on national television and not remark such things.

Evicted Navin Prakash wants to stay in touch with Manu, Manveer, Mona and Lopa only but not with Bani J!

Participant Navin Prakash's eviction from BB10 this week astonished a lot of his fellow housemates. Mona, Manu, Manveer were seen breaking down post his exit. Even Om Swami also wept like a stubborn baby whose favorite toy had been snatched away forever! Now Navin is out of the house, the professor explained on his equation with the inmates while speaking to a close source!

Ask him about whom he feels will bag the BB10 winner title, and without much ado, tells, "Gaurav Chopraa! He is playing the game right. I feel even Manveer is playing it right. Manu is a good guy, but as an analyst and viewer I feel he plays well but at times he gets diverted and becomes aimless. He talks so much which is undesirable at times and I feel going ahead, he may have to pay the price of this behavior!"

Further ask about whom he would want to stay in touch post the game and he tells, "I'll definitely stay in touch with Manu, Manveer, Mona and Lopa. But one person whom I will not want to stay in touch at all is Bani, for sure!,"

Navin had lately hurt his shoulder during a task inside the BB 10 house, and now is recovering.

Krushna Abhishek decides to tone down the content of Comedy Nights Bachao Taaza!

Comedy Nights Bachao Taaza is ready to overhaul its format by toning down its jokes and roast comedy.

Bearing in mind the latest scenario when John Abraham walked out of mid-shoot, after he could no longer deal with Abhishek and Bharti's personal comments, had affected Krushna individually and he had apologized to John as well.

While speaking to a tabloid, Krushna Abhishek told, "While several celebrities have appreciated the content, a few of them felt insulted. We don't want to irk people further and have decided to tone down the content. I don't wish to put my relationships at stake for the sake of comedy. We will indulge only in healthy leg-pulling. My co-actors are also in favour of this decision. Also, I don't think so. In any case, we can't spoil relationships for better ratings. We love to laugh at others, but taking a joke on oneself is difficult and often not appreciated."

The newest ones to soon make a presence on the show are yesteryear's beautiful ladies, Helen and Bindu. Of course, roasting such notables wouldn't be a good thought and hence, the show will execute their new concept of light comedy with their episode. "We can't dare roast them. So, we will be indulging in light comedy with them as well as the cast of 'Wajah Tum Ho' with whom we are shooting next," Krushna disclosed.

Karan Patel and wife Ankita are back in the city after Ye Hai Mohabbatein’s shoot in Australia!

After wrapped up the schedule in Australia, Karan Patel and wife Ankita are back in the city and were spotted at the airport recently.

Put on a V-neck grey t-shirt and denims, Karan was snapped walking hand-in-hand with Ankita as they zoomed through. Ankita, on the other hand, looked pretty in a long shrug and denims.

Remarkably, The Ye Hai Mohabbatein team had shot for an important sequence for eight days in Australia.

While Divyanka, Ruhanika and Aditi were also a part of the abroad shoot, Karan accompanied with wife got to spend some precious moments in the scenic locations.

Will Ekta Kapoor and Smriti Irani reunite again to create history like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi?

Recall the daily soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi? How about Ekta Kapoor and Smriti Irani teaming up again? Sound, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani and her husband Zubin Irani flew down from the Capital to Mumbai particularly for Ekta Kapoor's Diwali bash on October 29. 

The two spent some excellence time together and this has led to rumour mills speaking about the prospect of teaming up once more. A source revealed a leading tabloid, “Sixteen years ago Ekta and Smriti created television history with their association on one of the most popular soap operas of all time, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. In 2007, they had a fall-out and Smriti left the show. But, their relationship today is very strong and there is a definite possibility of the two teaming up again."

Arjun Bijlani and Drashti Dhami’s TV show 'Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil'’s shooting stalled by Shah Rukh Khan fans!

Admirers of megastar Shah Rukh Khan delayed the shooting of forthcoming TV show 'Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil' in Vienna, Austria.

They believed it was Shah Rukh shooting for a cameo in the movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil at the location. The show stars Arjun Bijlani and Drashti Dhami in lead roles.

"We were shooting a serious scene together, suddenly in minutes we realized that a crowd of fans had surrounded us" Bijlani told in a statement.

"Shah Rukh Khan is an enormously famous actor in Austria, his fans misjudged the shoot as 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' shoot and were waiting for hours just to get SRK's glimpse. Our shoot was on hold for three hours. It took a lot of time and energy to satisfy them that there is confusion," he further added.

The show 'Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil' will air on Star Plus from November 7.

Exes Karan Kundra and Kratika Kamra’s Happy Birth Day Bonding!

In TV & Film industry, exes can behave as good friends forever. Of course, exes can be good friends and Karan Kundra and Kratika Kamra show this so well.

The two good looking actors, who were the most much-loved real life couple of TV industry earlier, even after their split remain on good terms. They do not forget to wish each other on special day or events.

Lately, on Karan's birthday, Kratika wished him on social media and that is exactly what Karan did on Kratika's birthday recently. The actor took to Twitter to wish the beautiful woman as he posted, "Happy birthday kittles!!! @Kritika_Kamra."

Seemingly, the two were dating while working for Ekta Kapoor's Kitni Mohabbat Hai. Post that they broke up due to individual reasons.

Reality show actress Mohena Singh’s new entry in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai with twist and turn!

Reality show actress Mohena Singh’s new entry in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai with twist and turn!

TV serial Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai is presently viewing a romantic track between Naira, Kartik and Gayu.

As per latest updates, the show will mark the entry of another character. To be played by D3 and DID fame Mohena Singh, the actress has been roped in to essay the role of Kartik's  elder sister who is facing difficulties in her wedded life. According to close sources, “Mohena will play Keerthi, a married woman who will not be happy with her conjugal life. As the plot will progress, her role will blossom and she will go on to become the new girl in Naksh’s life.”

Let’s see what is in the store of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata’ next episodes.