MUMBAI: Television star Pankaj Dheer, known for playing Karna in B R Chopra's "Mahabharat" and king Shivdutt in the fantasy drama "Chandrakanta", died at the age of 68 following a battle with cancer on Wednesday.

"He passed away due to cancer this morning. He had been in and out of hospital in the past months," producer and friend Ashoke Pandit told PTI.

Dheer is survived by wife Anita Dheer and son Nikitin Dheer, who is also an actor. His last rites were conducted at the Pawan Hans crematorium in the evening. Salman Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Arbaaz Khan, Puneet Issar, and Mika Singh among others paid their last respects to Dheer at the crematorium.

Dheer, who hailed from Punjab, started out as an actor in the 1980s, featuring in minor roles in many movies.

His big break came in 1988 w

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