Pankaj Dheer Almost Went Blind On The Sets Of 'Mahabharat' Due To Technical Fault, 'No Doctor Was..'

Pankaj Dheer breathed his last on October 15, 2025, at the age of 68 after battling pancreatic cancer. The veteran actor has left his mark on the entertainment industry, with his iconic roles in both Hindi films and serials. However, his portrayal of 'Karna' in B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat was more than iconic. It was legendary. Pankaj's face had become synonymous with that of the mighty warrior. Once the actor had revealed what kind of accidents he had to face while essaying his career-best role, 'Karna'. 

Pankaj Dheer almost went blind due to an arrow while shooting as 'Karna' for Mahabharat 

In a past interview with DD Urdu, Pankaj Dheer recalled a dire incident that he had faced while shooting Mahabharat. He shared that during a fight sequence between 'Karna', played by him and 'Arjuna', played by Arjun Feroz Khan, an arrow jammed into the corner of his eye. Pankaj stated that it was an accident, and the scene wasn't supposed to happen like that. The veteran actor also shared that he could hear people saying that he was going to be blind from now on. Pankaj Dheer said:

“The fight was going on between Karna and Arjun. The arrow was supposed to touch my bow and it was supposed to break, but due to some technical fault, the arrow rammed into the corner of my eye. When they took out the arrow, a fountain of blood came out. Everyone got ice but I was just able to hear people saying, ‘Pankaj Dheer andha hogaeya hai’. And I was thinking my career has just started what has happened to me?”

Pankaj then stated that since they were shooting in Film City, which wasn't developed at the time, and there were no doctors nearby, he was taken to a small dispensary. An old man treated Pankaj and saved his eye. The actor shared:

“The show was being shot in Film City and it was jungle at that time. There was no doctor nearby. They took me to a small dispensary, where there was an old doctor sitting in that small room. He gave me injections, gave me stitches and bandaged my eye.”

Pankaj Dheer then mentioned that despite his accident and being bandaged around the eye, he received a call from B.R. Chopra's son, Ravi Chopra, informing him that he had to continue shooting because the episode needed to move forward. Hence, Pankaj's bandage was minimised, and his face was shot from only one side, and the shooting for the episode was completed. 

When Pankaj Dheer jumped from a chariot to save his life 

Pankaj Dheer narrated another incident on the sets of Mahabharat , which could have been bad for him. He said that during a scene, while he was on the chariot, its welding broke, causing the junior artist playing the charioteer to fall and break his ribs. Then the horses broke free, and Pankaj was stuck on a chariot that was going towards a steep slope. To save himself from falling down the slope, Pankaj jumped off the chariot. He stated:

“During a war scene, when my chariot was running. The welding of the chariot broke and the charioteer fell down and the wheel drove over him, breaking his ribs and cutting his stomach. He was in a very bad condition, then the horses separated from the chariot, and I was on a free running chariot that was running down a slope. Ahead of the slope there was a gorge. I realised that if I don’t jump off the chariot, I will fall in the gorge. I quickly jumped off the chariot. I got injured in my knees, but I saved my life.”

Despite all this hard work and acting in those tough situations, the core cast of Mahabharat were paid only Rs. 3000 per episode, Pankaj Dheer had revealed in a vlog with Farah Khan. Moreover, if they weren't shooting for the week, then they were paid nothing. Hence, most of the actors' main income came from public appearances at weddings, events, and showroom openings, etc., and not from Mahabharat. 

What are your thoughts on Pankaj Dheer facing these dangerous situations while shooting for Mahabharat? 

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