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EXCLUSIVE: Mukesh Khanna aka Mahabharat's Bhishma was 'never interested' in Ramayan until he watched the rerun
Ramayan returned to the small screen over the weekend. Like many other youngsters, Mahabharat actor Mukesh Khanna also is watching Ramayan for the first time.
Ramayan returned to the small screen over the weekend. While it was a nostalgic trip down the memory lane for several 80s children, many youngsters sat down to watch the show for the first time. Turns out, it was a first-time watch for Mukesh Khanna as well. The actor, best known for his role as Bhishma in Mahabharat and the titular role of Shaktimaan, sat down with the country to watch the reruns of Ramayan for the first time. In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Mukesh revealed he wasn't interested in the 1980s DD show until he watched the first two episodes over the weekend.
"It is so lovely to see Ramayan. I was never interested in watching Ramayan. Ye toh maine galti se pehla dekha, dusra dekha, mujhe laga kya bana hai (I accidentally watched the first and second episode aired on Saturday and was impressed by it)," the Shaktimaan star said. The actor praised the Arun Govil and Deepika Chikhalia's acting from the show. "Arun Govil ne bahut acha kiya hai," he said before adding, "even Deepika is looking like Sita."
Mukesh drew comparisons between the Ramayan and Mahabharat made during the late 80s and early 90s with daily soaps of today. He expressed none of the actors who played the mythological roles in the new versions of the shows were convincing enough. The actor compared the wedding sequence in the Ramanand Sagar version of Ramayan with the wedding scenes in today's daily soaps. "Yeh Ram-Sita ki shaadi dekho aur aaj ke saas-bahu serial ke shaadi dekho toh khud samaj jaoge ke usme sirf plastic-plastic bara pada hai," he said. "Learn from Mahabharat and Ramayan," he urged new-age show makers.
Apart from Ramayan, Mahabharat also returned to the small screen over the weekend. Although there were several versions made in the past, nothing came close to the BR Chopra's version. Mukesh notes that the rerun will help everyone analyze why newer versions of Mahabharat did not work. "Aaj Ekta Kapoor Draupadi ko tattoo laga deti hai khande par aur wo bolti hai main modern logo ke liye Mahabharat bana rahi hoon. Nahi chalti aisi cheez," he added.
Asked if people are reaching out to him to discuss the return of Mahabharat, he confesses he's getting messages from viewers praising his role on the show. He has been getting compliments as he used to get when the show originally aired.
