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Apart from Shaktimaan, actor Mukesh Khanna was also popularly known for his role as Pitamah Bhishma in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat (1998). His voice and his stance as a prince and commander were appreciated by one and all. People resonate with him as Bhishma even today. After the success of the 1988 show, several producers and directors tried to make their version of Mahabharat but Mukesh said that no one can come close to the original one.
In the latest episode of Bollywood Bubble Podcast, Let’s Talk, Khanna slammed Ekta Kapoor’s version for mocking the mythological scriptures. He said that they gave Draupadi a tattoo and the Pandavas looked models onscreen.
Mukesh Khanna on Ekta Kapoor making Mahabharat
When asked about people recreating Mahabharat into a movie, he said, “Should there be an effort to create it? Yes, every person has the right to try to make something. Several people have tried to recreate it as a serial, including a few big names like Star, but no one came close to the original because they didn’t have Dr Rahi Masoom Raza, they didn’t have Pandit Narendra Sharma, and they lacked the dedication. They attempted to tamper with our scriptures—Ekta Kapoor gave Draupadi a tattoo, and the Pandavas were shown as models with bare chests.“
“In our version, Bhim was played by Praveen Kumar, Arjun by Feroz Khan, Pankaj Dheer as Karna, and Yudhishthir as Gajendra Chauhan. These actors portrayed their characters so well that people still remember them. Even Nakul and Sahadev had a distinct identity. In the recent Mahabharata, forgive me, I won’t criticize, but I keep saying, “I’m visually discerning.” If I see something wrong, I’ll point it out. And why shouldn’t I? Everything is visible. Among the five Pandavas, I couldn’t differentiate between them. They didn’t care about the costumes, they weren’t wearing proper attire, they were just today’s models,” he continued.
Khanna talks about people commercialising Mahabharat
The Shaktimaan actor further said, “Today’s Arjun, Karna, and Bhim were just made slightly taller, but that’s not enough. The point is, that we had dedication. Nowadays, everything has become commercialized. There’s no sense of storytelling like what Chopra Sahab had. Today, people depend on gimmicks and sets, so Mahabharata wasn’t successfully recreated. Three different Mahabharata were made, and someone even said that they were just trying to copy the original. I said, “What can they do? They don’t have any other option.“
“Who was the first to play Bhishma in Mahabharata? It was Dilip Kumar, my father, who did it. Looking at him, they might think they’ve done a great job, but I know they won’t be able to truly replicate it. Even I say that I wouldn’t be able to copy my own role,” he continued.
Watch the full interview here
