Actor Gufi Paintal, best known for playing “Shakuni mama” in the epic TV serial “Mahabharat”, died on Monday at a hospital in Andheri in Mumbai due to age-related issues, his nephew Hiten Paintal said.
The veteran actor, whose real name was Saravjit Singh Paintal, was 79. Paintal is survived by his son, daughter-in-law and a grandchild.
“Unfortunately, he is no more. He passed away at the hospital around 9 am. His heart gave up. He passed away peacefully in his sleep,” Hiten told PTI.
Gufi Paintal’s acting credits also include 1980s Hindi films such as “Suhaag”, “Dillagi”, as well as television shows “CID” and “Hello Inspector”, but his manipulative uncle act as Shakuni mama, the king of Gandhara region and master of the dice, from BR Chopra’s “Mahabharat” made him a household name.
Paintal’s last rites were held at 4.30 pm at the Oshwira Crematorium in Andheri.
“The last rites were performed by his son Harry. We had family and friends from the industry including Pankaj Dheer, and Surendra Pal, among others at the crematorium,” Hiten said.
Actor Mukesh Khanna, who played Bhishma, said he had a long association with his “Mahabharat” co-star. “I had a long relationship with him since ‘Mahabharat’ and cast him in ‘Shaktimaan’ later. In ‘Mahabharat’, we had long confrontational scenes between each other. He was the one who called me for ‘Mahabharat’ and that marked the beginning of our association. He was the one who would call people, then there would be the audition,” Khanna told PTI.
Dheer said Gufi Paintal was “a good friend” with whom he and co-star Puneet Issar spent a lot of time together on set as the villainous trio of Shakuni, Karn and Duryodhan.
“He was a good friend and we did most of the scenes together in ‘Mahabharat’. As Shakuni, he was very impressive. Till date people try to copy him but they are not able to reach his style of performance. It is a big loss for the industry,” he added.
Cine & TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) paid tribute to Gufi Paintal on Twitter. “CINTAA expresses its condolences on the demise of Gufi Paintal (Member since Sept. 1992),” the trade union posted.
Actor Nimrat Kaur remembered the actor as “the indelible Shakuni Mama from our childhood days”. “…such stellar contribution to the Indian cinematic landscape. Prayers and strength to the family. Rest in peace Gufi Paintal ji,” she tweeted.
“Dahaad” star Gulshan Devaiah shared Gufi Paintal’s photo on Twitter to condole the actor’s death.
“Sarabjeet Singh ‘Gufi’ Paintal. 4th October 1944-5 June 2023 #Shradhanjali,” Devaiah wrote in the caption.
