Puneet Issar is an Indian actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his portrayal of the role of ‘Duryodhana’ in the Indian epic TV series “Mahabharat” (1988).
Wiki/Biography
Puneet Issar was born on Friday, 6 November 1959 (age 60 years; as in 2019) in Amritsar, Punjab. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. His family has its roots in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He did his schooling from Mumbai’s St. Lawrence High School and went to Mithibai College to pursue his graduation. After completing his graduation, Puneet did a course in acting from Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India.
Puneet Issar in his younger days
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 6′ 3″
Hair Colour: He is bald.
Eye Colour: Brown
Family & Caste
Puneet Issar belongs to a Brahmin Family. He is the son of the film director, Sudesh Issar. Not much is known about his mother.
Puneet Issar’s father, Sudesh Issar
Puneet is married to Deepali, daughter of Punjabi actor, Diljit Puri and Bengali singer, Ashita Puri. The couple has a son, Siddhant Issar, who is an actor, and a daughter, Nivriti Issar.
Puneet Issar with his wife
Puneet Issar with his son
Puneet Issar with his family
Career
Puneet started his career as an acting professor in the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. After struggling in the industry for a long time, he bagged the role of ‘Bob’ in the Bollywood film “Coolie” (1983). However, during the shooting of the film, Issar accidently injured Amitabh Bachchan. After the incident, no one was ready to work with Puneet. He, then, struggled for six years and did small roles in some B-grade films.
Puneet Issar in Coolie
In 1988, he bagged the role of ‘Duryodhana’ in the epic TV series “Mahabharat,” which established him as an actor.
Puneet Issar in Mahabharat
Subsequently, he appeared in TV serials like “Bharat Ek Khoj,” “Jai Mata Ki,” ” Noorjahan,” “Love Story,” “Kahaani Chandrakanta Ki,” and “Bani Ishaq Da kalma.”
Puneet Issar in Bani Ishaq Da Kalma
Issar made his Malayalam film debut in 1992 with the film “Yoddha.” Puneet made his Tamil film debut with the film “I Love India;” Kannada film debut with the film “Samrat;” Bengali film debut with the film “Bhagya Debata;” Telugu film debut with the film “Master;” and Punjabi film debut with the film “Rabb Ne Banaiyan Jodiean.” Some of his Hindi films include “Ashaant,” “Khalnayika,” “Refugee,” “I Am Singh,” “Qayamat Hi Qayamat,” “Krishna Arjun,” and “Son of Sardaar.” Puneet made his directorial debut in 2004 with the film “Garv.”
Puneet Issar in Krishna Arjun
In 2014, he participated in the game reality show “Bigg Boss Season 8.” He was among the top 5 finalists and stayed in the Bigg Boss house for 105 days. In 2019, he appeared in ZEE5’s web series “Parchhayee” as ‘Maharaja Digambar Singh.’
Puneet Issar in Bigg Boss 8
Controversy
When Puneet was shooting one of the fight scenes of the film “Coolie,” he accidently injured Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh got severly injured and had to go through a surgery. This incident made Puneet a real-life villain in the eyes of the public and he was thus criticised by the entire country. However, after Bachchan recovered from his injury, he sorted things out by saying that Puneet had done nothing intentionally.
Facts/Trivia
- Puneet Issar’s father was also a film director and had given a break to many artists, including Jagjit Singh, Raj Babbar, Anita Raj, etc.
- He is a fourth-degree black belt in martial arts.
- Initially, Puneet wanted to join the Indian Army.
- He wanted to become a villain in Hindi movies. Although he was a trained actor, his body builds and looks made him look for the roles of a villain.
- Puneet Issar, along with his team of ‘Mahabharata’, has done many live shows all over India and abroad.
- He has been an active theatre artist.
- Apart from being a trained actor, Issar has also worked as a speech, diction, and method acting professor.
- Puneet is also a trained mixed-martial-artist. He has received training in Karate, Kung-fu, boxing, and wrestling.
- Puneet is well versed in Hindi and Urdu language.
- He has got an “Om” tattoo inked on the back of his right hand.
- Puneet became so popular by playing the role of ‘Duryodhana’ that people started calling him by his character name in real life as well. He shared in an interview that once a Marwari businessman invited Roopa Ganguly and Puneet for dinner, and refused to serve him as he believed that Duryodhan was not a good person.