Mumbai: Actor Pankaj Dheer, best known for his iconic portrayal of Karna in B R Chopra’s Mahabharat, passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 68.
While television viewers were mesmerised by his portrayal of Karna, one of the most complex characters in the epic, few are aware that Dheer was initially offered the role of Arjuna in the televised series.
It was his stubbornness that led Chopra to throw him out of his office. In an old interaction with Lehren Retro, Dheer had recalled the incident and shared how the makers loved his audition and offered him the role of Arjuna.
“When I gave my audition, dialogue writers Rahi Masoom Raza, Bhring Tupkari Sahab and Pandit Narendra Sharma ji had a panel together. They all thought that I would suit the role of Arjuna well. We shook hands on that and I signed the contract,” Dheer had said.
Trouble started after Chopra asked the actor to shave off his moustache as he was required to play Brihannala (Arjuna’s eunuch form).
“He called me and said that since I would also have to play the role of Brihannala I would need to shave off my moustache. I was like, ‘No, I can’t do that.’ I told him that my face’s balance is such that if I shave off my moustache, I won’t look good. He told me, ‘Are you an actor or what? You are leaving such a big role because of a moustache. I can’t understand this,” Dheer said.
“It was my big stupidity but at that time, I could understand only this much. Chopra Sahab told me: ‘Get out of this door and don’t come back.’ He threw me out of his office. My contract was torn and for six months I kept roaming around and dubbing.”
However, his fortune turned for the better when Chopra called him back to play the role of Karna, something for which he would be remembered for the rest of his life.
“Chopra sir called me again and this is what I call destiny. He asked me if I could do Karna’s role. I asked him, ‘Sir I don’t have to shave off my moustache, right?’ He said no. It was destiny that I got Karna’s role. People gave me so much love. In fact, even in history books they have my face as Karna,” he said.