TOI: Let go of lucrative offers to play Arjun-Shaheer

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Shaheer Sheikh, who is playing the role of Arjunin the epic Mahabharat, says that it hasn't been easy getting into the skin of the character with so many shades.

On a recent visit to the capital, he told us, "Arjun was a perfectionist. He was the perfect son, the perfect husband, the perfect father and above all, a great warrior."

It was a huge challenge for the actor to take up a character which required him not only to work on his body, but also to work on his diction. "When I was offered the role, I was surprised. I had never thought of working on a mythological show. But I took it up as a challenge. I haven't studied Hindi that much. I couldn't speakshuddh Hindi which also had a lot of Sanskrit words. I had a Hindi teacher for the show, who taught us the language - the basics, the alphabets, and how to pronounce them correctly. It was like going back to school all over again."

Between his previous show Navya and this one, there was a gap of one year. It was during this period that Shaheer prepared himself for the role and had to even let go of a few lucrative offers. "I had to say no to a lot of projects. It felt bad at that time because the money they were offering was good," he revealed.

In order to not put himself under pressure, he deliberately didn't see BR Chopra's Mahabharat. "It was a conscious decision not to watch the previous Mahabharat. I didn't want to get inspired by any actor. However, I am ready for the feedback, and even the comparisons that will be drawn," he shared, adding that the new Mahabharat is quite realistic in its approach and offers reasons why any character behaved in a particular way.

Shaheer had no plans to become an actor and was happy working with a law firm in Pune. "It was on Facebook that someone asked me to audition for a role in Mumbai. I used to be a model, but acting was never on my mind. I decided to go there and try my luck. However, I got selected for Kya Mast Hai Life," he recalled. Post Mahabharat, Shaheer plans to take it a little easy. "I would like to take some time off and relax, probably go on a long vacation. I plan to venture into direction as well," he signed off.