Recalling their time on set, she said she was in awe of him from the moment they met, calling him the only true Karn from Mahabharat and praising his grace, wisdom, and chivalry
Jayati Bhatia Pankaj Dheer
On Wednesday, October 15, 68-year-old veteran actor Pankaj Dheer died after a long fight with cancer. He was most known for his portrayal as Karna in BR Chopra's 1988 television series Mahabharat. The actor has done numerous hit TV shows, one of which was Sasural Simar Ka, where he played Simar's father in the show. In an exclusive chat with mid-day, Jayati Bhatia shared an emotional anecdote about the late actor.
Recalling her first encounter with Pankaj Dheer on the sets of Sasural Simar Ka, Jayati shared, "I was playing Mataji in Sasural Simar Ka, and he was playing Simar's father. The moment I saw him, I was so overwhelmed because I have been a big fan of his right from the beginning because I have been, aaj kal log mujhe bolte hai when they were younger, they used to watch me on television, but, we have grown up on Mahabharat and whenever I think of Karn, I cannot think of anybody else but Pankaj Dheerji. There can be no Karn in this world but him. He has left such an indelible mark on my mind and in my heart. "
Jayati Bhatia on her bond with the late actor
She further added, "And he used to delight us all with wonderful stories, anything that we would like to ask him, how to go about it, sir, can you tell us, this is a decision that I have to take. And he would always be ready to give a suggestion, always give wonderful feedback on the scenes. And the moment I would enter the set and he would be sitting there, such a tall, towering man, and he would get up to say what a superbly chivalrous man."
Jayati shared that Pankaj had called her after watching her performance in Heeramandi, and how he congratulated her for the show, "The last time I spoke to him was after Heeramandi. He called me up, and I was so overwhelmed. He called me up and said, Jayati, kya kaam kiya hai, maza aa gaya. And congratulations, blessings, he sent me so many blessings and indeed a big, big loss to the industry, to understand what a performer is like, what he brings on screen, one has to learn from Pankaj Dheerji, sir. It is personal, I feel like it's a personal loss because he was always so, so encouraging towards me and always blessed me. My deepest condolences to his wife, to Niketan, and everybody in his family. I feel it's a personal loss."
Jayati Bhatia reveals whether she was aware of Pakaj's cancer battle
Jayati shared that Pankaj was someone who would help them and encourage them to improve their craft, "The beautiful part about it, about him, was that he, he was ready to share his experiences with us, you know, ki agar aisa karoge toh yeh hoga, yeh kyun nahi karte, why don't you do, eksa kuch karna hai toh. There were always suggestions from him, always wonderful, wonderful advice and suggestions for us who were younger than him and were junior to him. But it was, I was always fascinated to see him perform on and off set. It was wondrous, off-set, it was great storytelling. Just to see how he worked with his eyes and his beautiful baritone deep voice. It was absolutely wonderful."
When asked about whether she was aware of Pankaj Dheer battling cancer, she shared, "In February, I met Nikitin, who had come to my niece's wedding, and he was quite a little bit disturbed. So I asked him, ki Is everything okay? Are you, are you not well or what is happening? Why are you looking a little distracted? He said, 'I'm just telling you, don't tell her that Papa is a little unwell.' I said, 'Oh, achacha, I'm so sorry. No, no, take your time' And so bas uske baat maine kuch zyada poocha nahi, unse unhone bhi kuch bataya nahi. He just said that Papa is a little unwell. Toh itna mujhe pata tha, ke woh unwell toh the, lekin kya hua tha, kya nahi hua tha, maine bhi zyada prod karna samjha nahi, theek nahi samjha, because it is a very, very personal thing if people want to tell, they will. If they don't want to tell, I have to respect their privacy. I knew that he was a little unwell for some time. But kya tha, woh mujhe nahi malum tha. I'm sure he would have given cancer a very, very tough fight because he was a tough man. I'm absolutely speechless. And I'm still thinking of all the wonderful moments we spent on the Sasural Simar Ka set. "
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