Sasural Simar Ka co-stars Dipika Kakkar, Shoaib Ibrahim get teary-eyed at Mahabharat actor’s last rites

Dipika Kakkar and Shoaib Ibrahim at Pankaj Dheer’s funeral

Famous TV actress Dipika Kakkar, who is currently battling cancer, was seen attending veteran actor Pankaj Dheer’s funeral in Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon, along with her husband and actor Shoaib Ibrahim. Dipika, dressed in a simple white and navy blue ethnic suit, was seen walking hand in hand with Shoaib, who wore a plain white shirt and jeans.

Dipika looked visibly emotional and Shoaib tried to console her. For the uninitiated, Dipika Shoaib worked with the late actor a few years ago in the superhit TV show Sasural Simar Ka, in which Pankaj played Dipika’s father. The soap opera, which aired from April 2011 to March 2018, was one of the longest-running Indian serials.

Along with Dipika and Shoaib, many actors from the film and TV fraternity, including Salman Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Arbaaz Khan, Kushal Tandon and Mukesh Rishi, attended Pankaj Dheer’s funeral and paid their last respects. In an emotional moment from the funeral, Pankaj Dheer’s son Nikitin Dheer was seen consoling his mother Anita Dheer.

Pankaj had risen to fame after playing Karna in Doordarshan’s iconic serial Mahabharat. The late actor also shared screen space with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn and Bobby Deol in films Baadshah, Soldier, Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge, Andaaz, Sanam Bewafa and Taarzan: The Wonder Car.

His son Nikitin Dheer and daughter-in-law Kratika Sengar are also famous actors. Nikitin has acted in films like Shershaah, Sooryavanshi and Chennai Express, among others, while he has appeared in famous TV shows like Kratka, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahaani – Jhansi Ki Rani and Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki.

READ | A cryptic post shared by Nikitin Dheer a few hours before his father Pankaj Dheer’s death went viral: ‘Whatever happens…’