Puneet Issar (born 6 November 1959) is an Indian actor, writer, director, producer and dialect coach best known for his works in Hindi films and television shows. Issar started his acting career as a villain in Manmohan Desai's 1983 film Coolie, but gained recognition with the portrayal of Duryodhana in B. R. Chopra's television series Mahabharat (1988–1990).
Following Mahabharat, Issar acted in notable films including Chandra Mukhi (1993), Prem Shakti (1994), Ram Jaane (1995), Border (1997), Refugee (2000), Krrish (2006), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Ready (2011), Son of Sardaar (2012) and The Kashmir Files (2022). His first directorial was Salman Khan starrer cop film Garv (2004), for which he co-wrote the screenplay with wife Deepali.
Besides Mahabharat, Issar also went on to be part of television shows like Param Vir Chakra (1987), Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), Junoon (1993-1998), Noorjahan (1999-2000), Mahabharat (2013), Parchhayee: Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond (2019) and Choti Sarrdaarni (2021). He was a contestant in the reality television show Bigg Boss 8 (2014–2015), hosted by Salman Khan. Formerly, he worked as dialect coach at various acting institutions, and his expertise included speech, diction and physical gestures.
Personal life Puneet is the son of film director Sudesh Issar. He is also a trained artist and an 8th degree black belt holder.
He belongs to a Punjabi Hindu family which migrated from Pakistan following the 1947 partition.
He is married to Deepali, the daughter of actor Daljeet Puri and sister of actor Satyajeet Puri. She has written the films Garv: Pride and Honour (2004) and I Am Singh (2011) both directed by Puneet. The couple has two children, daughter Nivriti Issar and son Siddhant Issar. Siddhant is also an actor.
Issar is a fitness and gym enthusiast. He also made some positive headlines for fitness at the age of 60.
Career Issar has starred as a villain in over 150 films, such as Zakhmi Aurat, Kal Ki Aawaz, Palay Khan, Teja, Prem Shakti and opposite stars like Mohanlal, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. He also played a villain in the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Ram Jaane. He appeared in the hit war film Border. He played the role of Parashurama in 2013 Mahabharata and Duryodhana in the epic TV series Mahabharat (1988–1990) which brought him mainstream popularity.
He played the Indian Superman, a Bollywood version of the Hollywood films. He played the second lead in the cult Indian horror film Purana Mandir in 1983. Later he did many other horror movies such as Tehkhana in the 1980s.
He also starred in movies such as Krrish, Partner, Aryan, Bachna Ae Haseeno and many more in the 2000s.
In 1982, he was involved in an on-shoot incident with Amitabh Bachchan during the shoot of Coolie. He accidentally injured Amitabh, nearly fatally, and suffered the industry's backlash due to it. He later admitted that he had to face a lot of problems in getting roles in movies and he also lost 7-8 films due to the notoriety of the incident. He also went out of work for 6 years.
He has also directed TV serials such as Hindustani and Jai Mata Ki starring Hema Malini. He has starred in over 12 TV serials such as Junoon, Sahil, Noor Jahan, Vikram Aur Betaal and many more. He has appeared in over 1800 episodes on Indian television. He played the role of King Bimbisara in the feature film Gautama Buddha – The Life and Times of Gautama Buddha. He also starred in Left Right Left of the Indian Channel Sab TV. He has also worked in several Punjabi films such as Rab Ne Banayian Jodiyan and in a few Telugu films. He has also given a brilliant display of his acting skills in the mythological film Suryaputra Shanidev, which was released in 1997.
In 2004, Issar directed the film Garv: Pride and Honour starring Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty in lead roles. The opening collections of the film were good, and overall it was declared "Above Average" at the box office. His latest directorial venture I Am Singh, the story of which is also written by him, released in December 2011. It is based on the stories about the Sikh immigrants in the USA after the 11 September attacks.
In the Indian TV reality show Bigg Boss season 8, in 2014/2015, Issar was one of the 7 finalists. He was evicted from the show on 3 January 2015. Issar lasted in the house for 105 days. At 56, he was the oldest contestant to do so and lasted the entire season in the house. He played the role of "Daar ji" in Choti Sarrdaarni.
In 2022, Issar played DGP Hari Narain in The Kashmir Files, a film based on the Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits.
Filmography
Films Hindi Year Title Role Notes1983Coolie Bob 1984Raja Aur Rana Purana Mandir Anand 19853D Saamri 1986Janbaaz Palay Khan Amar Singh Dahleez Tahkhana 1987Pyar Ki Jeet Darshan Patel Hathyar Superman Shekhar/Superman Bhai Ka Dushman Bhai Watan Ke Rakhwale Akbar Awam 1988Akhri Muqabla Zakhmi Aurat Sukhdev Zalzala Main Tere Liye Kasam Maar Dhaad Police Inspector Sangraam /Jaggu 1989Elaan-E-Jung 1990Haar Jeet Maa Kasam Badla LoongaInspector Kishan SinghRoti Ki Keemat D'Souza Tejaa Jaan Lada Denge 1991Sanam Bewafa Afzal Khan Meet Mere Man Ke Paap Ki Aandhi 1992Kal Ki Awaz Jaagruti Suryavanshi Mahesh 1993 Shri Krishna Bhakta Narsi Chandra MukhiZoohlaAshaantRaanaAnmol Khal-Naaikaa Dr. Rajan BakshiKshatriyaShakti SinghZakhmi Rooh 1994Prem Shakti Yaar Gaddar Kranti Kshetra Shaitaan Singh Cheetah 1995Ram Jaane Inspector Chewte Haathkadi Chakku Pandey JalladBola1996MuqadarParashuram1997BorderSubedar Ratan Singh, SurajMangal SinghDaadagiriDhanrajJodidarPoacherSuryaputra Shani-dev Shani dev Krantikari 1998Sher-E-HindustanPolice inspector KhulbhushanChandaalPolice inspector Khurana1999Jaalsaaz Pratap Singh 2000Refugee 2001Zakhmi SipahiChhota ChaudharyBhairavJindal2004Vajra-The Weapon 2005Bunty Aur Babli Kasak 2006Aryan Ranveer Singh Bagga Krrish Komal Singh Humko Deewana Kar Gaye 2007Partner Rana from Haryana 2008Gautama BuddhaAnguli Mala Also shot in TeluguBachna Ae Haseeno God Tussi Great Ho The Wheel of Action Highway 2011Yamla Pagla Deewana Tejpaal Singh Ready Ishwar ChaudharyI Am Singh Fateh Singh Chhutanki 2012Qayamat Hi Qayamat Son of Sardaar Sardar2013Mahabharat Aur Barbareek Duryodhana 2022 The Kashmir Files DGP Hari Narayan Jayeshbhai Jordaar Amar Tau 2025 The Bengal Files Rajesh Singh2026 Border 2 Subedar Ratan Singh, Cameo
Telugu Year Title Role Notes1997MasterDevaraju aka DR, a mafia don2002Indra Shoukat Ali Khan 2003Tagore Police Commissioner Balbir Singh2004 Guri Minister2005Allari Pidugu Major Chakravarthy Narasimhudu JD 2007Chandrahas Liaqat Ali Khan 2008Gautama BuddhaAnguli Mala 2016 Eedu Gold Ehe Mahadev 2018 Sarabha Chandraksha 2019 iSmart Shankar Kasi Viswanath Captain Rana Pratap
Punjabi Year Title Role Notes2006Rab Ne Banaiyan Jodiean 2009Jag Jeondeyan De Mele 2012Best of Luck Jarnail Singh 2014Fateh Pratap Singh 2020 Teri Meri Gal Ban Gayi
Kannada Year Title Role Notes1994Samrat Chinna Rasika Time Bomb Jinga
Bengali Year Title Role Notes1995Bhagya Debata 2008Satyamev Jayate 2010Josh 2015Besh Korechi Prem Korechi
Tamil Year Title Role Notes1993 Uzhaippali Duriyodhanan I Love India 1994Athiradi Padai
Malayalam Year Title Role Notes1992YoddhaVishakha (black magician)1994PingamiEdwin Thomas
Marathi Year Title Role Notes2012Jai Maharashtra Dhaba Bhatinda Jas's Father 2026Ranapati Shivray: Swari AgraMirza Raje Jai Singh
Television Year(s) Title RoleNotes1987Param Vir Chakra Naik Jadu Nath Singh19881990MahabharatDuryodhan19931998Junoon Saudagar Singh1988Bharat Ek Khoj Maharana Pratap19971997 Betaal Pachisi Kabira19971998Mahabharat KathaDuryodhan19992000Jai Mata Ki MahishasurNoorjahan Sher-e-Afghan20062007Left Right Left Brigadier Chandok2007Love Story2008Neeli Aankhen2011Dwarkadheesh Bhagwaan Shree Krishn JarasandhKahaani Chandrakanta Ki King Shivdutt 2013Bani Ishq Da Kalma Gurudev Singh BhullarMahabharat ParshuramaSri BhagavatamRavana and HiranyakashyapTelugu Mythological serial on ETV20142015Bigg Boss 8 Contestant6th place2018Namune Dhanaji 2019 Parchhayee: Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond Maharaja Digambar Singh2021Choti SarrdaarniBeant Singh Gill 2022 Channa Mereya Rajwant Singh 2023–2024 Vanshaj Bhanupratap Mahajan "Dada Babu" 2025 Shiv Shakti – Tap Tyaag Tandav Ravana
Other credits Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 19971998 Hindustani 19992000 Jai Mata Ki 2004 Garv: Pride & Honour 2011 I Am Singh
Theatre In 2018, Puneet Issar wrote and directed the stage production Mahabharat: The Epic Tale, produced by Rahul Bhuchar under Felicity Theatre. The play featured Puneet Issar as Duryodhan and Rahul Bhuchar as Karna, exploring the friendship between the two characters.
References
External links
Puneet Issar on Bollywood Hungama (archived)