Gufi Paintal aka Mahabharat's Shakuni Mama passes away at 78

Veteran actor Gufi Paintal, who played the iconic role of Shakuni Mama in BR Chopra's 'Mahabharat' on television, passed away on Monday morning. The actor was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on May 31 and he was undergoing treatment for kidney and heart-related ailments. He was being treated at the Bellevue Multispecialty Hospital in Andheri West.

Paintal was 78 when he breathed his last.

His last rites will be held at his Andheri residence at 4 pm on Monday.

Gufi Paintal passes away

Paintal had reportedly been unwell for quite some time and his health deteriorated on May 31, post which he was rushed to the hospital.

Television actress Tina Ghai took to her social media to announce the news of Paintal's demise. "With profound grief and sorrow, we regret to inform that ourbeloved Gufi paintal jee ( Shakuni) left for his heavenly abode," she wrote, along with a picture of the actor.

Since the past few days, she was urging fans to pray for the health of the veteran actor through her social media.

About Gufi Paintal

Paintal tasted overnight success and became a household name after he was cast as the evil mastermind Shakuni Mama in BR Chopra's version of the epic Mahabharat.

He had also been a part of several other television shows in which he primarily played supporting roles, including 'Akbar Birbal', 'Om Namah Shivay', 'Mrs Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein', and 'Karn Sanghini', among others.

Besides TV, Paintal had also featured in several Bollywood films, and in most of them, he was seen playing comic roles, very different from what he did in Mahabharat.

Some of his most notable films include 'Rafoo Chakkar', 'Des Pardes', 'Dillagi', 'Maidan-E-Jung', and 'Daava'.