Praveen Kumar Sobti, champion athlete and Bhim of 'Mahabharat', passes away at 74
Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Feb, 2022 05:41 PM
New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) It was the punch he landed on Praveen Kumar Sobti that made Amitabh Bachchan's character deliver the famous dialogue from Tinnu Anand's super-hit movie 'Shahenshah': "Rishte mein toh hum tumhare baap hote hain, naam hai Shahenshah! (Yes, I am your father. I am Shahenshah)" But Sobti, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 74 in New Delhi, became briefly famous when he played the Pandava strongman Bhim in B.R. Chopra's iconic television serial 'Mahabharat'.
Before that, Sobti, who started his working life with the Border Security Force and towered at 6 feet 5 inches, earned laurels for India in discus throw and hammer throw, winning medals in three editions of the Asian Game -- a gold and a bronze in the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games, another gold in the 1970 Asiad, which was also held in Bangkok, and a silver at the 1974 Tehran Asiad
Sobti also won a silver at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, and represented the country at the Olympics in 1968 and 1972. He will, however, be remembered for his on-television characters -- Bhim in 'Mahabarat' and Saboo in the Raghubir Yadav-starrer 'Chacha Chaudhary', based on Pran Kumar Sharma's hugely popular comic-book series in Hindi.
Interestingly, his Chacha Chaudhary character was a giant alien from Jupiter, who provides protection to the elderly Chacha.
Sobti's large frame made him just right for thuggish roles in Hindi and he got his first break in Hindi cinema in action sequences against Jeetendra in 'Meri Awaz Suno' (1981).
Soon thereafter, he appeared in the action thriller, 'Raksha', which was a remake of a Telugu film inspired by the James Bond movie, 'The Spy Who Loved Me'. The strong man, pitched against Jeetendra yet again, reprised the role of 'Jaws' in the Bond movie.
Apart from having a busy film and television career, Sobti also dabbled in politics -- he stood in the 2013 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (2013) elections and subsequently joined the BJP.
The plea said Kangna has made these utterances on a public platform of social media like Instagram. "This post on Instagram in short means and infers 'Sikh farmers as Khalistani Terrorists, upholds the genocide of 1984', means that Sikhs should be treated as a lower race like unwanted mosquitoes and they need a Guru like Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
Preparations for the much-hyped marriage between Bollywood stars Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif have begun at the Six Senses Fort Barwara located in Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan. An event management company has been entrusted with the responsibility of making all the necessary arrangements for the big day.
The film, directed by Kabir Khan, is a biographical sports drama based on the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team. '83', which also stars Tahir Raj Bhasin, Jiiva, Saqib Saleem, Harrdy Sandhu, Ammy Virk, Pankaj Tripathi, Boman Irani, Nishant Dahiya and Sahil Khattar, is all set to release on December 24.
The plot has ample face-offs and action sequences that are astutely choreographed. The fights that feature Salman Khan are mostly captured in slow motion, probably to camouflage the hero's waning spirit.
Delhi Assembly's Committee on Peace and Harmony on Thursday summoned Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut to depose before it on December 6 (at 12 noon) over her recent social media post in which she had labelled farmers protesting against Centre's three farm laws as "Khalistani terrorists".
The film which will soon go into production, will be helmed by 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl' director Sharan Sharma and is slated to hit the theatres on October 7, 2022.
