Praveen Kumar Sobti

Sports

Kumar was a star of Indian athletics in the 1960s and 1970s. He dominated the Indian hammer and discus throws for several years. He won gold medals in the discus throw at the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games, holding the Asian Games record of 56.76 metres. He was a silver medalist in the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston and in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. He competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Cinematic journey Praveen Kumar's debut film was Raksha, a James Bond style Bollywood movie starring Jeetendra with him playing a large henchman gorilla inspired by Jaws of The Spy Who Loved Me. He did similar role of Justin, a large henchman fighting against Jeetendra in Meri Awaz Suno.

Praveen Kumar earned national acclaim when he played the role "Bheem" in B R Chopra's popular mythological television serial Mahabharat, making him a household name. He played the role of "Saaboo" in Chacha Chaudhary (the TV series) for a large number of episodes.

After the Mahabharata serial, he got many acting roles in Indian films, though he cut down on his acting career, in order to launch his political career in Haryana and Delhi. He also acted in the famous comedy Tamil film Michael Madana Kama Rajan as a Body Guard.

Praveen Kumar was the actor to take the first blow of one of the most successful and famous punch dialogues of superstar Amitabh Bachchan, "Rishte Mein to Hum Tumhare Baap Hote hain, naam hai Shahenshah!" in Tinnu Anand's blockbuster Shahenshah. He played the semi-comedic role of the legendary "Mukhtar Singh", a drug dealer who later becomes a dairy owner, upon being beaten up by Shahenshah.

Politics

In 2013 Kumar joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He contested the Delhi assembly elections from the Wazirpur constituency on an AAP ticket, but lost. The next year, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Death

Praveen died from a heart attack in New Delhi on the night of 7 February 2022, at the age of 74.

Filmography Hindi films

Other language films

Television Year Film Role Language Notes 1988 Mahabharat Bhima Hindi 1997 Mahabharat Katha