Mukesh Khanna shares details of his last phone call with late Praveen Kumar Sobti aka Bheem of Mahabharat

Pic Courtesy: Instagram

New Delhi: Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna is quite active on social media. On the death of his co-star Praveen Kumar Sobti aka Bheem from epic show Mahabharat, Khanna shared a video on Instagram describing the star. 

In the video, Mukesh Khanna recalled his last phone call chat with Praveen Kumar Sobti, who called to check on the former's well-being. "He called me up and said 'pitamah!' I asked him if all was well and he said everything was fine, and he had simply called to ask after my well-being. He was not someone who'd call me often. But he called that day, we had a good chat and he was his usual happy self. I did not suspect at all that he was unwell, or would die in a few days." 

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A post shared by Mukesh Khanna (@iammukeshkhanna)

Mukesh revealed it was only 15 days back that Kumar called him. 

Sharing details of his working experience with Bheem aka Praveen Kumar on the show Mahabharat, Mukesh narrated an incident. "I can tell you that if there was a person who was the most 'shareef', it was Praveen Kumar. He would always sit and talk with the best manner possible. He had the accent of a Punjabi and the jovial nature that is associated with Punjabis but no controversy ever surrounded him. He would always call me pitamah, not once did he call me by my name, Mukesh."

Praveen Kumar Sobti, best known for playing Bheem in the TV series ‘Mahabharat’ and for winning an Asian Games gold medal, died following a cardiac arrest late Monday (February 7) evening. He was 74.

The actor breathed his last at his Ashok Vihar residence in New Delhi.

"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 told PTI.

Praveen represented the country across various athletic events in hammer and discus throw and even won four medals at the Asian Games, including two gold medals in 1966 and 1970.

He also won a silver medal in Hammer Throw during the 1966 Commonwealth Games.

The athlete gained further popularity after he began his acting career and featured as Bheem in BR Chopra's classic ‘Mahabharat’ in 1988.

He is survived by wife, daughter, two younger brothers and a sister. 

(With PTI inputs)