How Pankaj Dheer Got The Role Of Karna In BR Chopra’s Mahabharat ?

Lehren Retro

Pankaj Dheer is one of the finest actors in Indian cinema. In a candid chat with Lehren Retro, the actor explores how he got, prepared, and enacted the role of Karna in BR Chopra's Mahabharata.

Transcript

00:00 When you were offered the role of Mahabharat, you were given the role of Arjun.

00:04 Yes.

00:05 So, you gave up that role due to sprain.

00:07 It was like this, when I gave my audition, Rahim Asum Raza, who was a dialogue writer at that time,

00:16 Bhring Tupkari and Pandit Narendra Sharma, they all had a big panel.

00:21 They all thought that I would look very good as Arjun.

00:25 So, they said, "Sir, you become Arjun." They shook hands and became a contract.

00:30 Everyone was praised. Everything was done.

00:32 In 2-3 months, I kept roaming around in Mumbai as Arjun.

00:35 In the third month, Mr. Chopra called me to his office and said,

00:39 "Barkhudar, the thing is that you have to play the role of Brahm Nalla, so you have to cut your moustache."

00:46 So, I said, "Sir, I can't do this."

00:49 He said, "Why?"

00:50 I said, "Sir, my face's balance is such that if I remove my moustache, it won't look good."

00:56 He said, "You are an actor, what's the big deal?

00:59 Such a big role in the matter of moustache, I don't understand."

01:01 I said, "No, sir, I won't cut my moustache."

01:04 So, he was very disappointed.

01:07 And it was a big foolishness on my part, as an actor, what is a moustache?

01:15 But at that time, I was understanding that.

01:17 So, he said, "That's the door, get out of there and never come back here again."

01:21 He fired me from the office.

01:23 As soon as I went out, everyone met me and asked, "What are you doing, brother?

01:28 It's a matter of moustache, it's a 15-20 day portion, will your moustache come back?"

01:34 I said, "No, I won't do it."

01:36 For six months, I was fired, the contract was torn, I kept roaming around.

01:41 Then I kept dubbing.

01:43 Now, this is the destiny, I told him, "Chopra sir has called again, come to the office.

01:49 You will play the role of Karan."

01:52 I said, "Sir, I won't have to cut my moustache."

01:54 He said, "No, sir, you will definitely do it."

01:57 So, it was destiny that I had to get the role of Karan.

02:01 And it's history, see, people have given so much love that the children's school books,

02:09 which has a chapter on Karan, show my face.

02:13 What could be a bigger thing than this?

02:15 You were at the forefront of popularity at that time.

02:18 Yes, yes.

02:19 When Mahabharata came, I still remember, there used to be a popularity poll in those days.

02:25 So, in that, Rajiv Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan, my third name used to be there.

02:30 In the whole village, in the village, if I go to any corner of India, people used to love me a lot.

02:37 I have seen that time too.

02:39 So, how do you see that era, sir?

02:41 Like, first Ramayana came, it was seen on TV in every house.

02:45 They used to be completely out of control, every Sunday they used to wait.

02:48 See, the two texts, basically Ramayana and Mahabharata,

02:52 are the foundation of our cultural heritage.

02:56 It has a complete base, if you talk about this country.

03:01 So, it was very important that it came out.

03:06 Films used to be made earlier, but the Ramayana which Sagar sir made and the Mahabharata which Chopra sir made,

03:12 there were many capable people in it, the content was so good that people still remember it after 40 years.

03:21 Many people may not know my real name, but they will definitely say that this is Karan.

03:27 So, this impact is not there in today's date. Because this content is difficult to get.

03:34 And I will say that our heritage, our culture, our history, there are so many wonderful stories in it.

03:42 If we take them out today and make them based on them, then it can be world class.

03:48 But we are making some strange shows these days.

03:52 I don't understand what is happening. I am not complaining, but the environment is strange.

04:00 The environment of TV has become very bad.

04:05 OTT had come, I thought it would be good, but it has become the same kind of abuse,

04:11 some strange scenes, they are not necessary.

04:15 When you were offered the role of Karan, did you have that much knowledge about Karan?

04:23 Or did you find out later that this character of Karan is the most powerful?

04:28 I didn't have any information.

04:32 I was a boy from Bombay, I was an English medium student, I didn't know a word of Sanskrit.

04:38 So, when I was given the dialogue for the first time, I was very nervous.

04:42 So, I went to Mr. Rai, and asked him what to do.

04:46 He said, "Do one thing, there is a Hindi paper coming out of Bharat Times, read it loudly at home,

04:52 so that you can practice your words."

04:57 So, I started that, and secondly, there were some books, like Rashmi Rati,

05:04 and one was of Mrityunjay, of Shivaji Sawant. He said, "Read this."

05:09 So, I read it. And from that, the things that came out,

05:14 after that I thought, now it's my job to paint the character.

05:22 How he will walk, how he will stand, how he will sit in the middle of people,

05:26 what will be his way of talking.

05:29 So, we didn't have abs, because in those days, there were no gyms.

05:38 There were only wrestling stands, where we used to go.

05:41 So, there are a couple of things, which you might not have noticed, but I will tell you today.

05:47 If you see Mahabharat, I never blinked my eyes, whenever I played the role of Karan.

05:54 Because, one reason for that was, Karan was a son of a Sutra, meaning, he was of a low caste.

05:59 Now, when he sits in the middle of kings, he will be very conscious.

06:03 If he is conscious, he won't blink his eyes. So, that was a very impactful,

06:09 a physical thing for me, as an actor.

06:13 The second thing was, that on both sides of me, there were very loud characters,

06:17 Duryodhan and Shaguni. They used to shout so loudly, that I thought,

06:20 if I also shout, then this will become a market.

06:24 So, I underplayed the whole role, intentionally.

06:29 So, by underplaying, the role blossomed. And people started to feel sympathy.

06:35 So, I did such things, which I can very proudly say, that it is my contribution, as an actor.

06:44 You played the role with great intensity, and people gave love to your character.

06:49 It is said, that when the scene of Karan's death was broadcast,

06:54 people started to miss him, that Karan is not to be seen.

06:59 I read somewhere, that you were invited to MP, you went to a village.

07:04 So, that was the story.

07:06 The thing was, that when Karan's character dies,

07:11 then, at that time, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Arjun Singh,

07:16 he got a desperate call from Mr. Chopra, that where is Karan?

07:22 He asked, what happened? He said, that in Bastar district,

07:27 where the tribal people live, we have to send Karan there.

07:32 So, I was sent to Bhopal, by helicopter.

07:36 When I went there, I saw, that at least 5000-7000 people,

07:41 were lying on the ground, in the form of Sastang Namaskar, and everyone cut their hair.

07:46 That Karan is dead. I was shivering, that this also happens in our country.

07:53 And at that time, they weighed me in silver, and kept looking at me like this.

08:00 So, I said, I am fine. There is a death in the serial,

08:06 I will see it, I will touch it, and then it will be calm.

08:10 So, all these things happened in that time.

08:13 In some places, Karan has built a temple.

08:16 Yes, he has built a temple.

08:18 See, when things work, then many things get connected with it.

08:25 But, that was the time, and now this is also the time.

08:30 (Laughter)

08:31 (Music)

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