This actor has immortalised one of the noted characters from the Indian epic on television, and even before the series, he made India proud by winning gold and bronze medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
An actor wishes to immortalise a character that would give the artiste a lifetime of fame. Every actor dreams of having one such character with whom they will be remembered even after their demise. Today, we will talk about an actor, who earned nationwide popularity with his Hercules physique, larger-than-life persona, and powerful screen presence. His character of Bheem in BR Chopra’s popular epic Mahabharat made him a household name, and he was called Bheem till his last breath. Yes, we are talking about Praveen Kumar Sobti.
Before acting Praveen made India proud by…
Even before, Praveen played Bheem, he had made India proud by representing the country on international grounds. Praveen 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.
Here are the images
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. Praveen got his breakthrough after portraying Bheem in Mahabharat from 1988 to 1990.
Praveen Kumar’s stint in politics
The actor even tried his luck in politics, Praveen contested the 2013 Delhi assembly elections from the Aam Aadmi Party ticket but lost and joined the BJP in 2014.
The demise of Praveen Kumar Sobti
The actor suffered a chronic chest infection problem followed by cardiac arrest, and he passed away at his Ashok Vihar residence, in Delhi on February 8, 2022. A relative of the actor told PTI, “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,” The late actor-athlete is survived by his wife, daughter, two younger brothers, and a sister.
