Actor Pankaj Dheer, best known for his portrayal of the warrior Karna in the DD Bharati television show Mahabharata (1988), has sadly passed away after a long and arduous battle with cancer. Actor Amit Behl, who was an old friend and colleague of Dheer, has confirmed the news.
The veteran actor has been fighting against his cancer for quite some time. Even though Dheer was well until a few months ago, the disease relapsed which resulted in him having undergone a major surgery.
CINTAA (Cine & TV Artistes’ Association) has released an official statement regarding the actor's demise on Wednesday. "With profound grief and deep sorrow, we inform you of the passing of our Trust’s erstwhile Chairman and CINTAA's former Hon. General Secretary, Shri Pankaj Dheer ji, on 15th October 2025. The cremation will be held today at 4:30 pm, next to Pawan Hans, Vile Parle (W), Mumbai," the official announcement read.
#CINTAA & #CAWT mourn the loss of Shri Pankaj Dheer, former General Secretary of #CINTAA and former Chairman of #CAWT — a respected member of our fraternity whose invaluable contributions to Indian cinema and television will always be remembered.
— CINTAA_Official (@CintaaOfficial) October 15, 2025
Funeral today at 4:30 PM at… pic.twitter.com/kNTG4TTTVc
Apart from his iconic role in the epic television drama, Pankaj had also acted in several other TV serials, such as "Sasural Simar Ka" and "Chandrakanta, "Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev" and was part of Bollywood projects like "Sanam Bewafa," "Poonam" and "Baadshah." Additionally, he was also in the director's chair in the film "My Father Godfather."
The role of warrior Karna was quite dear to Pankaj Dheer, who spoke at length about the popularity of his portrayal of the character. Amid the resurgence in popularity of DD's Mahabharata during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dheer remarked: "People have loved me and adored me over the years. Even in the history books of schools, if they have a reference to Karna, they have my picture there. So, as long as these books are printed in school, I will always be their reference as Karna."
In the same conversation, Pankaj revealed that such was the popularity of him and his character that there were temples in which he was worshipped. "I also have two temples where Puja is done every day. I am worshipped there in the Karna Mandir. I have been to those temples. One is in Karnal and one is in Bastar. There is an eight-foot-tall statue of mine, and people come there and worship it. When I go there, people love me from the bottom of their hearts. This goes to show that they have accepted me as Karna. This becomes very difficult for others to play that role again," he recalled.
His legacy continues through his wife, Anita Dheer, and his son, actor Nikitin Dheer, who has followed his father’s path in cinema.