Gufi Paintal: All About The Master Of Comedy And Drama!

Sarabjeet Singh Paintal, often known as Gufi Paintal, was an Indian casting director who later became an actor and director. Gufi became a household name after portraying the character of Shakuni Mama in the epic television show Mahabharat.

The actor’s other famous television serials include Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap, Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein, and Karmaphal Daata Shani.

He also went on to play notable characters in Hindi movies such as Dillagi, Des Pardes, and Daava. Gufi breathed his last on June 5th, 2023 following a heart attack.

Physical Stats

Gufi Paintal Family

Gufi was born on 4 October 1944 in a Sikh family. The actor’s father Gurucharan Paintal worked as a cameraman. However, his mother’s name is not available in public sources.

Gufi has a brother Kanwarjit Paintal who is also a film and television actor. Popularly known as Paintal, Kanwarjit has also acted in Mahabharata along with Gufi.

Gufi was married to Rekha Paintal who passed away in 1993 due to a heart attack. The couple is survived by their son Harry Paintal who is an actor. Harry has acted in films such as Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Chal Chalein, and Oru Avadhikaalam. 

Relationships

There is no information available in the public sources that shows that Gufi had any relationships.

Gufi Paintal Education

The actor did his schooling at DPS International School, Delhi. Gufi’s father wanted him to become an engineer and thus the actor completed his graduation in engineering.

Controversies

Gufi was once invited as a guest in the ‘Kapil Sharma Show’, a popular television show. While speaking, the actor recollected an incident where a fan threatened to break his leg. It was 30 years back and the fan after watching Draupadi’s stripping of clothes and the war scene in the television show Mahabharat was quite infuriated.

In a letter written to the actor, the fan urged Gufi who played the role of Shakuni Mama to end the war or else he will break the actor’s second leg as well.

It is to be noted that the character of Shakuni was portrayed as limping in the show. The irate fan also gave Gufi an ultimatum of one week to stop the war. 

Gufi Paintal Profession

In 1962, the Indo-China war was underway and Gufi was studying engineering during that time. The youngster who was quite interested in joining the Army, attended the army recruitment drive that was happening in his college. Soon Gufi joined the force and was posted in the Army Artillery on the China border.

During those days, since there was no radio or television for entertainment, the military personnel used to perform the folk play of Ramlila at the border. Gufi played the role of Sita in the play and thus became interested in acting. 

In 1969, Gufi came back to Mumbai. At that time, his brother Paintal who had attended a course at The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) was trying his luck in acting. Soon Gufi took up modeling, worked as an assistant director in films, and also acted in both serials and films. 

In 1975, Gufi made his acting debut in movies with the film “Rafoo Chakkar”. Later, in 1978, he joined BR Films and there he played multiple roles of actor, assistant director, casting director, production manager, and director.

During that time, he was appointed as the casting director for the television show Mahabharat. Though he suggested many names to play the character of Shakuni, finally the makers chose Gufi to play that role. Acting in Mahabharat proved to be the turning point in his career and Gufi soon rose to fame.

In his career, the actor has acted in several movies such as Dillagi, Des Pardes, Suhaag, Daava, and Ghoom. When it comes to television, Gufi acted in numerous serials such as Kanoon, Om Namah Shivay, CID (Indian TV series), Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein, and Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap. 

Gufi’s tried his hand at direction with the film ‘Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’. In 2010, he was named head of the facilities at the Abbhinnay Acting Academy in Mumbaai, which is operated by Pankaj Dheer, Gufi’s co-star in Mahabharata.

Gufi Paintal Net worth

As per sources, Gufi’s net worth stands at Rs.26 crore.

Lesser Known Facts About Gufi Paintal

• During the time Gufi was cast for the role of Shakuni in Mahabharata, he was suffering from hip pain. The actor had a limp on his right leg and was also advised to undergo surgery to fix the problem. However, Gufi was against the surgery, and he checked with the makers of Mahabharata whether it would be possible to portray Shakuni as a limping person. The makers agreed and thus the character of a limping Shakuni was born.

• Once Gufi and his co-actor Mukesh Khanna in Mahabharata were travelling in a local train. Though Mukesh was offered a seat by the other passengers, they refused to vacate the seat for Gufi citing the reason that they did not want to give the seat to Shakuni mama.

• Long back, Nitish Bhardwaj who portrayed the role of Krishna in Mahabharata was a struggling actor. During those days, he used to approach Gufi, who was the casting director for Mahabharata. After Gufi passed away, Nitish fondly remembered that it was Gufi who presented his photograph before Ravi Chopra and that paved the way for him to be cast in the show.  

• In an interview, Gufi once recollected his army days when he used to portray the character of Sita. According to him, the person who played the role of Ravana came in a scooter and kidnapped him.

• On the occasion of Gufi’s funeral, actor Surendra Pal who played the role of Dronacharya in Mahabharata broke down and he was consoled by other actor colleagues. 

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