That was the time when we eagerly wait for this Epic TV serial ever, Mahabharat based on the Hindu epic which ran from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 on DD National with 94-episode. Mahabharat was produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by his son Ravi Chopra, music composed by Rajkamaland written by the Urdu poet Rahi Masoom Raza, based on the original story by Vyasa. All the Costumes for the series were provided by Maganlal Dresswala.
1. Nitish Bhardwaj as Krishana
He came and flaunted that smile, and that’s how we all began to imagine Lord Krishna. Currently, Bhardwaj is pursuing screenwriting and film direction. He is also a former member of the Indian Lok Sabha.
2. Roopa Ganguly as Draupadi
Ganguly was last seen in a TV series called Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo (2009).
3. Puneet Issar as Duryodhan
Our very own Duryodhan is one of the contestants in the Bigg Boss house!
4. Mukesh Khanna as Bheeshma
He is more popular as Shaktimaan than Bheeshma. Interestingly, he never went out of sight and continued to act on TV. He was last seen in Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha (2012-2013).
5. Gajendra Chouhan as Yudhishter
The character Yudhishter was his first break and worked well from him. Since then, he has done about 150 movies and 600 serials. He was last seen in a TV show called Adaalat (2012).
6. Pankaj Dheer as Karna
Yes, he played Karna in the epic TV series. Dheer has done a wide variety of roles in Hindi films, from comedy to horror. He also owns an acting school called Abhinay.
7. Praveen Kumar as Bheem
He played Bheem in the series. Kumar is an athelete, Arjuna award winner and participated actively in the 1970’s Asian Games. Recently, he contested in the 2013 Legislative Assembly elections as a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. After losing at that, he joined the Bhartiya Janata Party.
8. Surendra Pal as Dronacharya
He was Dronacharya in the series. Pal, too, has been seen on screen many a time. He was last seen in the TV series called Devon Ka Dev…Mahadev (2011).
9. Gufi Paintlal as Shakuni
We hated him as Shakuni, didn’t we? The man is still only referred to as that awful uncle from Mahabharata. He was last seen in the TV series called Maharana Pratap (2013).
10. Firoz Khan as Arjun
This Arjun from Mahabharata became so popular that he actually changed his name to Arjun. He was last seen in Yamala Pagala Deewana 2 (2013).
11. Kiran Juneja as Ganga
She married filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, and is seen doing character roles in films
12. Raj Babbar played King Bharat
13. Girija Shankar played Dhritrashtra
He is involved in directorial ventures now.
14. Renuka Israni played Gandhari, Dhritarashtra’s wife
She was seen playing Sakshi Tanwar’s mother in ‘Bade Achche Lagte Hain’.
15. Daara Singh immortalised the role of Hanuman in the show.
He is no more with us, but his memories are still etched in our minds.
The title song which consist of Bhagavad Gita was sung and the verses rendered by singer Mahendra Kapoor. The title song was followed by a narration by Indian voice artist Harish Bhimani of a personification of Time, detailing the current circumstances and highlighting the spiritual significance of the content of the episode.Mahabharat was Dubbed in Tamil, Telugu, and also in Indonesia in the early 1990s. The total cost of producing the series was 9 crore.
