Gufi Paintal became a household name in 1988 after portraying the role of Shakuni in BR Chopra's superhit show 'Mahabharat'.
Gufi Paintal, who played the iconic role of ‘Shakuni Mama’ in superhit serial Mahabharat, passed away on Monday (June 5) morning. He was 78 years old. Gufi Paintal was admitted to the hospital in Andheri, Mumbai eight days ago. Gufi Paintal had heart and kidney ailments. Gufi’s nephew, Hiten Paintal and his Mahabharat co-star Surendra Pal have confirmed the death of the actorr. His last rites will be performed today at 4 pm.
Gufi Paintal made his Bollywood debut in 1975 with 'Rafu Chakkar'. He appeared in many films and TV shows in the 80s. However, Gufi Paintal became a household name in 1988 after portraying the role of Shakuni in BR Chopra's superhit show 'Mahabharat'. Gufi was was last seen in Star Bharat's show 'Jai Kanhaiya Lal Ki'.
Before making his acting debut, Gufi Paintal was in the Army. In an exclusive interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Gufi Paintal had shared his story. "When the Indo-China war was going on in 1962, I was studying engineering. Army recruitment was going on in the college even during the war. I always wanted to join the Army. I was posted in the Army Artillery on the China border.”
“There was no TV and radio for entertainment at the border, so we (army soldiers) used to perform Ramleela at the border. I used to play the role of Sita in Ramleela and a person disguised as Ravana used to come on a scooter and kidnap me. I was fond of acting, got some training from it,” he added.
Gufi Paintal came to Mumbai in 1969 and worked as an assistant director in many films. Then one day, BR Chopra gave him the chance to work as a casting director in Mahabharata.
According to Gufi Paintal, he was looking for the perfect face for the character of Shakuni in Mahabharat and he had auditioned all the characters for the show. Gufi Paintal finally shortlisted three people for the role of Shakuni but Masoom Raza, who was writing the script of the show, advised him to play the role of Shakuni. And the rest as they say is history.
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 "Gufi Paintal, Shakuni of Mahabharat, dies: He served in Army during Indo-China war, performed Ramleela at border")
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