Stars Life After DD's '‘Mahabharat’'

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The iconic mythological show, Mahabharat is enthralling the viewers with it's rerun and families across the nation have come together to watch the show. We got in touch with Roopa Ganguly who essayed the role of Draupadi in the show where she spoke about her experience, singing in the show, memories from sets and much more.



The iconic mythological show, Mahabharat is enthralling the viewers with it's rerun and families across the nation have come together to watch the show. We got in touch with Roopa Ganguly who essayed the role of Draupadi in the show where she spoke about her experience, singing in the show, memories from sets and much more.

You have won a National Award for singing and you also sang a song in Mahabharat. How was the experience?

I sang one song in Mahabharat called ‘Naino Ke’, and it was a beautiful experience. What happened was that the makers were looking for someone to sing the song that was to be picturized on me. Ravi sir suddenly asked me, ‘Will you sing a song?’ I was quite okay with that and didn't think much of it because I was singing ever since I was a kid. While I agreed, I also told Ravi Ji that if my attempt at singing was not successful, I was completely fine if they hired a professional singer for the same. Luckily, I sang the song in one take and everyone liked it. It is a lovely song. Today after all these years when I heard the song and I was happy that I agreed to lend my voice for it.

Mahabharat is back on COLORS. What do you have to say about that?
There were so many people from my generation who wanted to watch Mahabharat. Also, I am sure that the younger generation might have heard tales about the show from their parents or grandparents. Now that a channel like COLORS has taken the onus to narrate this tale to the masses, everybody who has been wanting to watch the show now knows that they have to tune into COLORS.

Did you ever realize that Mahabharat would make such a big impact on the Indian audience?
We had put in a lot of hard work and we were confident that people would like the show. But slowly we got to know about the impact it had on people. We got the news that trains used to stop at stations which had a television so people could watch Mahabharat! At that time, we were very busy shooting the show, so we never really realized that the show had become such a huge hit. I didn't even get a chance to watch the show properly at the time. I am watching the show properly now on COLORS and there are so many flashbacks, so many memories of shooting those scenes.

You played Draupadi in Mahabharat. What are your memories from that time?
I had the most wonderful time playing Draupadi. While it was a challenge for me because I was not so well-versed in speaking Hindi, I made double the effort. The one memory that I have from the time was that I used to be the first one to turn up on the sets. The schedule was very strict back then and we all had to report on time. Ravi Ji was very friendly but he also made sure that we follow a disciplined life on the sets. And I had no problem as I would report on the sets way before the 7 am deadline. I would be there at 5 am!

We all are quarantined. How are you spending your days?
During the lockdown as a part of my relaxation, I have done a lot of household work. From childhood, I have been very fond of doing household work. During this time, I have cleaned up every nook and corner of my house. This is what I focused on. I also got sanitizers made from my doctor friends and got it distributed across to people.

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Before all the other actors over the years played Lord Krishna, it was Nitish Bharadwaj that made the hugest impact playing the role in Mahabharat.


Courtesy : Times of India

It is now officially over. Of course, not the trend of mythological shows where one old mythological show after the other keeps poping for a rerun and has viewers hooked on to TV and not miss original programming.

But now, the part that is over is that two of the most popular epics, Ramayan and Mahabharat have both concluded their rerun. Before all the other actors over the years played Lord Krishna, it was Nitish Bharadwaj that made the hugest impact playing the role in Mahabharat. In a recent interview with ETimes, when Bharadwaj was asked about the love and adulation, he said, “Once I was at a temple when a group of elderly women started blessing me. When I asked them the reason behind it, they said, ‘We know you just play the character of Lord Krishna on screen, but you must have some special qualities in you which is why the Lord himself chose you to portray his role.’ I must have done something good to get so much love from fans.”

He further added, “Sometimes people ask me to name their kids and to make them happy, I suggest some names. Then there are times when some people come up to me and say that they have named their kids Nitish. That makes me so happy. I feel blessed.”

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Not many know that the young Balram in Mahabharat was played by Hansraj and during the recent rerun of the show, people noticed it and the actor has been getting calls for the same.



Often, we come across instances of how several actors complete a particular period of time in the industry and it is only after spending several decades that we term them to be veterans. When it comes to actor Chetan Hansraj, the man who is just 47 right now has already completed four decades in the industry.

Yes. That's right. Not many know that the young Balram in Mahabharat was played by Hansraj and during the recent rerun of the show, people noticed it and the actor has been getting calls for the same.

“Many were surprised to see me because they didn’t know that I was a child artiste. I acted in ‘Mahabharat’ when I was 14. I still remember shooting for it; there was something very special about the show. Yes, it’s been 40 years in the industry,” he smiles. So, how did it all begin for him? “I saw my cousin Jugal Hansraj’s photograph in a magazine and told my mother that I wanted to follow suit. So, we got some photographs clicked and she sent them out, it was all her hard work. I did 250 print media ads, 50 TV commercials, and seven-eight movies, too. Then I did ‘Mahabharat’ after which I took a break. A few years later, I got into modeling and eventually returned to acting,” Chetan recalls in an interview with ETimes.

Talking about his journey as an actor and the ups and downs in this field, he shares, “It’s been an exciting journey. You can never be sure of anything because there’s always something new that’s happening. Sometimes, you may feel that you have no work and suddenly, a call comes and you are all charged up. I don’t think about where my next work will come from, I always leave it to God. I’m just happy that I am in a profession where I get to play multiple characters, so it’s almost like I live multiple lives in one life. I started at five and I’m 45 today. I am looking forward to exploring different kinds of roles, including in the webspace.”