Kanwarjit Paintal, better known as Paintal (born 22 August 1948), is an Indian actor and comedian. He started off as a comic actor and moved on to teaching the art of acting. He has extensively worked not only in numerous movies but also television. He was born into a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

family in a village named Tarn Taran which is near

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

, Punjab. He lived his early life with his family members in Sadar Bazaar,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. Paintal learnt acting at the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

and in 2008 was the Head of the Acting Department of FTII. He came to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

(now Mumbai) in 1969. His brother Gufi Paintal played the role

Shakuni Shakuni (, , ) is one of the antagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king after the death of his father, Subala. He was the brother of Gandhari (Mahabharata), ...

in B.R. Chopra hit show '

Mahabharat (1988 TV series) ''Mahabharat'' is an Indian Hindi-language epic television series based on the ancient Sanskrit epic ''Mahabharata''. The original airing consisted of a total of 94 episodes and were broadcast from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 on Doordarshan ...

', in which he himself played the roles of

Shikhandi Shikhandi () is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. He is the brother of Draupadi, the female protagonist of th ...

and

Sudama Sudama (), also known as Kuchela (), is a childhood friend of the Hindu deity Krishna. The story of his visit to Dvaraka to meet his friend is featured in the Bhagavata Purana. In their legend, Sudama and Krishna study together as children ...

. His son, Hiten Paintal, is also an actor, who worked in movies such as '' Dil Maange More'' (2004) and '' Bachna Ae Haseeno'' (2008).

Filmography

Some of Paintal's notable roles included Rattan in '' Jawani Diwani'' (1972), Salma in '' Rafoo Chakkar'' (1975), Guruji in ''

Bawarchi ''Bawarchi'' (translation: ''The Chef'') is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language musical comedy drama film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and produced by Mukherjee himself along with N.C. Sippy and Romu N. Sippy. Released in India on 7 July 1972, the ...

'' (1972), Arun in ''

Piya Ka Ghar ''Piya Ka Ghar'' ( My Beloved's House) is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Basu Chatterjee, and produced by Rajshri Productions, starring Anil Dhawan and Jaya Bachchan. A remake of Raja Thakur's Marathi film ''Mumba ...

'' (1972), Panditji (Astrologer) in '' Parichay'' (1972), Totaram in ''

Jangal Mein Mangal ''Jangal Mein Mangal'' is a 1972 Bollywood romance film directed by Rajendra Bhatia. The film stars Kiran Kumar, Reena Roy and Pran. Plot Biology Professor Laxmi, in the company of nine of her students, and a convent nun, Sophia, go on a fiel ...

'' (1972), Kamal in ''

Heera Panna ''Heera Panna'' is a 1973 Hindi romance film. Written, produced, and directed by Dev Anand for Navketan films, the film stars Dev Anand, Zeenat Aman, Raakhee, Rehman, Jeevan, A.K. Hangal, Paintal and Dheeraj Kumar. The film's music was compos ...

'' (1973), Headmaster in ''

Roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

'' (1974), Ramu in '' Khote Sikkay'' (1973), and Budh Anand in ''

Satte Pe Satta ''Satte Pe Satta'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Raj N. Sippy and produced by Romu N. Sippy. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Ranjeeta Kaur and Amjad Khan in the lead roles with Sachin Pil ...

'' (1982). One of his most notable roles was as Champak Boomia in ''

Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar ('')'' is a 1973 Indian comedy film directed by Rajendra Bhatia. Its stars Kiran Kumar and Radha Saluja. This film was adapted from a Gujarati play and later remade in Marathi as '' Pheka Pheki'' (1989) and in Hindi as ''Golmaal Returns'' ( ...

'' (1973). The film became very successful for the character 'Champak Bhumia' played by him. From playing comic roles, Paintal has moved on to play serious character roles, most recent of which is in the television drama Pyar Ka Dard Hain Kuch Meetha Meetha.

Bollywood films

TV career

* ''

Vikram Aur Betaal ''Vikram Aur Betaal'' () is an Indian television series that aired on DD National in 1985 and was re-telecast in 1988 after the hit Series Ramayan (1987 TV series), Ramayan. The series contained stories from Hindu, Indian mythology. The conce ...

'' as Dagdoo * '' Ssshhhh...Koi Hai''-Bhediya as Werewolf * '' Ssshhhh...Koi Hai''-Khoj * ''

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succes ...

'' on

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is an Indian state-owned entertainment television channel, founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is the flagshi ...

(October 1988 – June 1990) –

and

*''Jai Mata Ki'' sage ''

Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

'' * ''Daal Mein Kala'' on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented reali ...

(1988) as Various characters * ''NatKhat'' on

Zee TV ZEE TV also known as Z TV is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched on 1 October 1992 as the oldest privately owned television channel in India. History ...

(1994) * ''

Pyar Zindagi Hai ''Pyar Zindagi Hai'' is an Indian television comedy series that premiered on Zee TV on 30 March 2003. The series is set in the Punjabi backdrop, and stars Rakhee Tandon & Mukul Dev in the main lead. Love, Life & Laughter are the three mantras ...

'' on

(2003) * ''Ladoo Singh Taxiwala (1976 The first ever doordarshan serial)'' * '' CID (Indian TV series) '' as Ghanashyam in Episode 409 * ''

Amber Dhara ''Amber Dhara'' is an Indian Hindi language television series that aired on Sony Entertainment Television from 24 September 2007 until 24 April 2008, based on the lives of conjoined twins, Amber and Dhara. Plot The story revolves around the li ...

'' on

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (196 ...

(September 2007 – April 2008) – Mahendra Pratap Dixit * ''

Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara ''Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara'' is an Indian Hindi-language romantic drama television series produced by Rajshri Productions. It aired from 18 June 2012 to 1 November 2014 on Star Plus. It starred Disha Parmar and Nakuul M ...

'' on (Star Plus) as Jagdish Prasad Gupta (2012–14) * ''

Ek Shringaar-Swabhiman EK, Ek or ek may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Eastern Kentucky Railway (with reporting mark EK), now-defunct railway * Eastman Kodak (formerly with NYSE ticker symbol EK), US-based photography company, formerly * Ek Commando Knife Co ...

'' on

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, Comedy, comedies, fantasy shows, youth-oriented Rea ...

as Sujan Singh Chauhan (2016–17) * '' Piya Albela'' on

(2017–18) as Kashinath Vyas * ''

Partners Trouble Ho Gayi Double ''Partners'' (also known as ''Partners Trouble Ho Gayi Double'') is an Indian buddy cop-comedy series. The series was produced by Paritosh Painter. The show premiered on SAB TV on 28 November 2017. Plot Aditya Dev and Manav A Desai are two p ...

'' (2017) - Special Appearance *''

Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

'' on

as Baksh Singh (2020) * '' Kabhi Kabhie Ittefaq Sey'' on

StarPlus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented realit ...

as Charudutt Kulshresta * '' Mehndi Wala Ghar'' as Hari Agarwal * ''

Sajan Ji Ghar Aaye Family Kyun Sharmaye Sajan may refer to: * Sajan (director), Indian director of Malayalam movies * Sajan (Kikinda), a village in Vojvodina, Serbia * ''Sajan'' (1947 film), 1947 Indian film * ''Sajan'' (1969 film), Indian Hindi-language film, debut of actor Shatrughan ...

'' as Avdesh Lal (2025) * ''

Anupamaa ''Anupamaa'' is an Indian Hindi-language television drama series that premiered on 13 July 2020 on StarPlus and streams digitally on Disney+ Hotstar. Produced by Rajan Shahi and Deepa Shahi under the banner of Director's Kut Productions, it i ...

'' as Manohar Pandit

Awards and nominations

, - , 1973 , ''

'' , rowspan="2",

Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...

, , - , 1978 , ''

Chala Murari Hero Banne ''Chala Murari Hero Banne'' () is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by and starring Asrani, Bindiya Goswami and Ashok Kumar in lead roles. Plot Murari dreams of becoming an actor, but his Dad ( A.K. Hangal), who runs a cloth sh ...

'' ,

References

External links

*
Shikhandi a pivotal character
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paintal Indian male comedians Filmfare Awards winners Living people 1948 births