Praveen Kumar Sobti (6 December 1947 – 7 February 2022) was an Indian

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

and

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

er, film actor, politician, and soldier with

Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...

. As a 20 year old he joined then newly raised

from where he attracted the attention of his officers through his fine athletic skills and went to represent India at various athletic events in "

Discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

". As an

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

he won four medals at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, including two gold medals, won a silver medal in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

and competed in two

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. As an actor, he starred in more than 50

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

s and played the famous character of "

Bheem In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...

" in B.R. Chopra's television series ''

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' that started in 1988. As a politician he contested the 2013

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Legislative

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

on an

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (; AAP) is a political party in India, as one of the national political parties. The AAP was founded in November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement, popular ...

ticket, but lost. Subsequently, in 2014, he joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

Sports

Praveen Kumar, Jalal Keshmiri and Salman Hesam 1974

Kumar was a star of Indian athletics in the 1960s and the 1970s. He dominated the Indian hammer and discus throws for several years. He won gold medals in the

at the 1966 and

1970 Asian Games The 6th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand.- - Seoul, South Korea, had been selected to host the 6th Games but it declined due to both financial reasons and security threats from neighboring North Korea. (T ...

, 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 The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Cinematic Journey

Praveen Kumar's debut film was Raksha, a James Bond style Indian movie starring

Jeetendra Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures. Early life ...

with him playing a large henchman Gorilla inspired by

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

of The Spy Who Loved Me. He did similar role of large henchman Justin fighting against Jeetendra in

Meri Awaz Suno "Meri Awaz Suno" (Urdu: میری آواز سنو, literal English translation: "listen to my voice") is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released in 1995. It is the second track from the band's fourth album, '' Azadi'' (1997), re ...

. Praveen Kumar earned national acclaim when he played the role "

" in B R Chopra's popular mythological tele serial ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'', making him a household name. Praveen Kumar also played the role of "Saaboo" in

Chacha Chaudhary Chacha Chaudhary is an Indian comic book character, created by cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma. The comic comes in ten Indian languages including Hindi and English and has sold over ten million copies. It has also been made into a television series ...

(the T.V. series) for a large number of episodes. After the ''Mahabharata'' serial, Praveen Kumar 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 Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

film Micheal 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 Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

, "Rishte Mein to Hum Tumhare Baap Hote hain, naam hai Shahenshah!" in

Tinnu Anand Tinu Anand (born Virender Raj Anand, 12 October 1945) is an Indian actor, director, writer and producer in Hindi cinema and a few Telugu and Tamil films. Early life He is the son of veteran writer Inder Raj Anand, brother of producer Bittu Ana ...

's blockbuster Shahenshah. Praveen Kumar 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

(AAP). He contested the Delhi assembly elections from the Wazirpur constituency on an AAP ticket, but lost. The next year, he joined the

(BJP).

Death

Sobti died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in New Delhi on the night of 7 February 2022, at the age of 74.

Filmography

References

External links