Actor-athlete Praveen Kumar Sobti aka Bheem in ‘Mahabharat’ passes away at 74

Praveen Kumar Sobti, famous for portraying Bheem in B. R. Chopra’s iconic mythological television series ‘Mahabharat’ died following a cardiac arrest late Monday evening at 74.

The actor breathed his last at his Ashok Vihar residence in Delhi. With his huge physique and tall height, the actor played the character of a goon and a henchman in various Hindi films.

Before gaining fame as Bheem in ‘Mahabharat’, Praveen Kumar represented India in hammer and discus throw events at international sporting events. He won the silver medal in the hammer throw in the 1966 Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica. Praveen even won four medals for India in the Asian Games – two Golds in the discus throw event in the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand. In the 1966 games, he also won the Bronze medal in the hammer throw event before finishing his medal count with a Silver medal in the discus throw event in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran, Iran.

The late actor entered the entertainment industry in the early 1980s and did various brief cameos playing a henchman in films like ‘Raksha’, ‘Hum Hain Lajawab’, ‘Agnee’ and ‘Yudh’. His most famous Bollywood portrayal is as Mukhtar Singh in the 1988 action vigilante film ‘Shahenshah’ headlined by Amitabh Bachchan. After portraying Bheem in ‘Mahabharat’ from 1988 to 1990, the late actor became a household name.

Praveen even tried his luck in politics when he contested the 2013 Delhi assembly elections from the Aam Aadmi Party ticket but lost and joined BJP in 2014. “He had a chronic chest infection problem. At night, when he started feeling uneasy, we called the doctor at home. He passed away between 10-10.30 PM following a cardiac arrest,” a relative of Praveen was quoted telling PTI. The late actor-athlete is survived by his wife, daughter, two younger brothers, and a sister.