Mahabharat's Bheem, Praveen Kumar Sobti passes away at 74

Praveen Kumar Soblti, who became popular as Bheem from BR Chopra's Mahabharat is no more. The actor passed away late evening on Monday after suffering from cardiac arrest at his residence in Delhi's Ashok Vihar. He was 74 years old.

One of his relatives 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." He is now survived by his wife, daughter, two younger brothers and a sister.

Praveen Kumar portrayed the character of Bheem, and was praised not just for his acting skills but also for his physique. Born in Punjab, he was also a BSF jawaan. He was a sportsman who had also represented India in hammer and discus throw. In fact, he was a four-time Asian Games medallist, and also represented India in the Olympics twice- during the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games and then in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. He then forayed into acting and generally portrayed roles of bodyguard and goon because of his physique. He also shared the screen with Amitabh Bachchan in Shehenshaah where he played Mukhtaar Singh. Later, he also joined politics. He contested the Delhi Legislative elections as a member of the Aam Janta Party in 2013 and then joined the Bhartiya Janta Party in 2014.

May his soul rest in peace and may his family get the strength to deal with this irreplaceable loss.