New Delhi: Actor Gufi Paintal, best known for playing ‘Shakuni mama’ in the epic TV serial ‘Mahabharat’, died on Monday (June 5) at a hospital in Mumbai due to age-related issues, his nephew Hiten Paintal said. He was 79. The veteran actor, whose real name was Saravjit Singh Paintal, was admitted to a hospital in suburban Andheri.
“Unfortunately, he is no more. He passed away at the hospital at around 9 am. His heart gave up. He passed away peacefully in his sleep,” Hiten told PTI.
Hiten had earlier told PTI that his uncle was not keeping well due to age-related health issues.
“He had blood pressure and heart issues. He was keeping unwell and all this was going on for a while. Things got severe now so we got him to the hospital for observation. He has been in the hospital for seven to eight days. He was critical initially, but right now he is stable,” Hiten had told PTI.
The epic-saga by BR Chopra featured some well-known names of that time including Dara Singh, Mukesh Khanna, Roopa Ganguly among others. However, not many people are aware that not just Gufi Paintal but his brother was also a part of the show. Gufi’s brother Kanwarjit Paintal, who is an actor and a comedian, essayed the role of Shikhandi in the show. Shikhandi is an important character in Mahabharata who help Pandavas defeat Kauravas. She was Amba in her previous life and was wronged by Bhism Pitamah after which she vowed to be the cause of his death.
According to reports, Kanwarjit bagged the role of Shikhandi in BR Chopra’s Mahabharata because of his brother Gufi, who was also the casting director of the project. Also, he had good contact with BR Chopra that further helped him secure himself among the cast.
Gufi worked as an actor, casting director, assistant director, production manager, and director. He was a multifaceted personality. He started his career as an engineer but later because of his interest shifted to acting. In 1975, the veteran actor debuted in the film ‘Rafoo Chakkar’.
After a couple of years, he was seen in ‘Dillagi’ and ‘Des Pardes’. His brother also greatly helped him in his acting career as he was already a established name in the entertainment industry.
Paintal informed ANI that as an assistant director, he worked with well-known filmmaker Rahul Rawail. He also worked as the casting director of ‘Mahabharat’. “After working in the mythological show, his career graph started going up and he did a number of TV shows, direction and became a popular face of the entertainment industry,” he added.
Gufi Paintal was also seen in TV shows, such as ‘CID’, and ‘Ssshhhh…Koi Hai’ and ‘Mrs. Kaushik’s Paanch Bahuein’. He also directed a film titled ‘Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’. Kanwarjit acted in movies like ‘Satte Pe Satta’, ‘Bawarchi’, ‘Dilwala’ and ‘Teri Kasam’.