KHMK Articles/Interviews/News Corner

Speaking about Chetan Hansraj, who will play Bheem in the serial, Suraj says, "Well, Chetan still has to start shooting for the serial. Regarding him too the dates are not clashing with any of his other commitments."

Ronit Roy plays the character of Bhishma Pitama in the serial and is even seen as Mihir in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. But Anil Nagpal, the scriptwriter of Kyunki is not too worried. "Ronit has already started shooting for Mahabharat and his track in Kyunkii still continues as per the schedule without any delay."

Kiran Karmarkar, who plays the role of Shantanu in Mahabharat, has already finished shooting his part for the epic. He says he too did not face any difficulty. "Since, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kahaani Hamari Mahabharat Kii belong to the same production house, I did not have to decide on my shooting schedule at all. Wherever the production house used to direct me I used to go there. It was fun working in the serial and there was no special preparation that I had to do for the character so I am looking forward to it."

Kahaani Hamaray Mahabharaat Ki will go on air starting July 7. Ekta has recently finalized the kid who will play Krishna. While there are a few characters which are yet to be finalized, we give you a lowdown on some of the most important characters of the epic.

10. Dronacharya was the royal Guru of both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He was a master of all military arts. He was impressed with Arjun's archery skills. Drona is one of the most powerful and destructive warriors in the Kurukshetra War in which he had to fight the Kauarava instead of the Pandavas.The actor for this role has not been finalized.

9. The one who will play Dhritarashtra's character too has not been finalized. He was the King of Hastinapur and father of the Kauravas. Since he was blind, his wife decided to tie a blindfold on her eyes and lived like that throughout her life. Ram Kapoor was supposed to play this character but because of some reason he stepped out of this role.

8. Shakuni was the brother of Gandhari; He played a very important role in the epic. He was a mentor to Duryodhana in politics .He also helped the Kauaravas in the game of gambling. Can be called the smart politician. The character for this role too has not been chosen.

7. Bhishma is the son of Shantanu and Ganga and most important character of Mahabharat. He took archery training from Parshurama and was often called as Bhishma Pitamha by Kauravas and Pandavas. He was on Kauravas' side on the battle and was on arrows for half the battle. Ronit Roy will be playing this character

6. Duroyadhan, eldest brother of 99 Kauravas, was the most powerful character physically. Draupadi taunted him during one of their visits to Sheeshmahal and for taking revenge the Kauravas played a gamble on Draupadi. Aryan Vaid is playing Duroyodhan in KHMK.

5. Karan, popularly known as Sutputra, was the sixth brother of Pandavas. But he had to fight against them in the Kurukshetra battle. He was famous for donating things to everyone who needed them. Also he was one of the best archers of the epic. Hiten Tejwani is Karan in KHMK.

4. Bhim. He was distinguished from his brothers because of his great stature and strength. It is said that none of the characters of the epic is equal to him in that regard. His power was often compared being equal to a thousand elephants. Chetan Hansraj will be seen as Bhim.

3. Arjun is the hero of the epic. He is the master of archery and played a very important role in the battle. Krishna was the Sarthi of Arjun in the battle and when Arjun was in two minds whether to fight the battle with Kauravas, Krishna gave him knowledge about the famous Bhagwat Geeta. Harshad Chopra will play this character.

2. Draupadi is known as Panchali and Krishna's sakhi. She was married to all five Pandavas and was responsible for the destruction of the Kauravas. She was one of the most beautiful ladies of the epic. Goddess Kali had given special powers to her. Anita Hasnandani is going to play the beautiful lady.

1. Krishna is the tenth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Krishna was the hero and narrator of the epic. He supported the Pandavas in the battle and saved Draupadi from the vastraharan which Duroyodhana and Dushyasana were trying to do. He told about Bhagwat Geeta to Arjun. The actor for this role has not been finalized as yet.

The rest of the actors who have been finalized are Akashdeep Saigal (Kansmama), Rakshnada Khan (Amba), Makarand Deshpandey (Ved Vyas Rishi), Kiran Karmarkar (Shantanu), Sakshi Tanwar (Ganga) and Jatin Shah (Sahdev)..

http://www.indya.com/news/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2008/June/N ews_20080626_282

Now &nb sp; September 2007

"Ekta's number is 7 - her birthday is on June 7 so it is her lucky number and she is ruled by that number. But this was not the first date suggested to her. I had given her June 29 but it was too early for them to start off. So the date is 7 and the month too. It will surely work for them," feels Sanjay.

Indrani Mukerjea, Founder & CEO, INX Media, said, "I am delighted to announce that MAHAABHAARAT will premiere on the 7th of July, at 9 pm, and will air Mondays to Thursdays. I am confident MAHAABHAARAT, which has the biggest Indian stars in the greatest drama ever, will do justice to the great epic with its unique and contemporary presentation."

Produced by Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms, it features an array of super stars such as Ronit Roy, Sakshi Tanwar, Aryan Vaid, Chetan Hansraj, Akashdeep Saigal, Anita Hassanandani, Rakshanda Khan and Makrand Deshpande, along with several others whose names will be revealed over the next few days.

Shot in Ladakh, Jaipur and Wai, the costumes have been done by Manish Malhotra

Says Indrani Mukerjea, "It s a gripping spectacle of relationships, power, politics and values, with all the dramatic excitement and interplay of emotions that makes Ved Vyasa's Mahabharat a story for all time and all generations. We are confident that MAHAABHAARAT will have the same appeal and relevance for life today that it had thousands of years ago."

Says Chetan, "My main focus is on high protein food. In breakfast I mostly have eggs and corn flakes while for lunch or dinner I prefer having roasted chicken, boiled vegetables - carrots, beans etc. I avoid potatoes and rice. In fact you can say that I have completely cut off its consumption."

On the exercise front, he says, "I am doing it almost every day - aerobics and cardio for one hour and weight training programme for half an hour. I have a separate trainer and work out five times a week. I have taken this very seriously and am feeling the effects of my body."

We got hold of some pictures which reveal the signature style and traits of the some characters.

Shakuni mama: One of the meanest characters of Mahabharat, he was the uncle of Kaurava and had a habit of playing the dice game which we can see in this particular snap.

Duroyadhan: The eldest and most powerful brother of Kauravas. Here you can see his build - the most famous traits of his character.

Karan: The sixth son of Kunti was considered as Survanshi Kshatriya and a great donor. The mark of the sun is visible on his stomach as he gets killed in the battlefield.

Arjun: With bow and arrow and the famous fish image in the pic. The great archer had hit the fish's eye by looking at it's mage in the water. That is how he got married to Draupati in the swayamwar.

Draupati: Was one of strongest women of the epic. The Pandvas lost her in a gamble with Kauravas. The reason why Mahabharat took place was the vastraharan of Draupati.

He is taking major training for his role from Prashant Sawant (SRK's trainer). He has stopped eating rice and fish.

Ram Kapoor as Dhritashtra

It is said that Ram is also on weight training and is working hard to prepare for this blind character.

Chetan Hansraj as Bheem

Chetan is training himself in a gym. It is said that while doing a dummy shoot, Aryan's biceps inspired him.

Hiten Tejwani as Karan

"I consider myself lucky to have got such a good role in Mahabharat even though it means a lot of hard work for me. I have to learn horse riding and sword fighting for the battle scenes and also work out for two hours daily to get into shape for Sahadev's character," says a grateful Jatin, whose rise to fame, like many other actors, can be attributed to Balaji Telefilms.

But why a mythological character? "People started liking me as Raunak in Kasturi. When my character started developing negative shades, they started hating me. So I took Sahadev's role to get a positive image. Hopefully, they will start liking me again," Jatin smiles.

"I consider myself very lucky to have been identified for the biggest project on Indian television today," he continues. "Plus, I feel an actor's actual test is in doing different types of roles. I have done soaps, now I feel doing a mythological character will add to my portfolio and help me mature as an actor."

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/jul/02jatin.htm

Ronit Roy: Nervous about playing Bhishma

July 01, 2008 18:01 IST

After essaying the popular role of Mihir Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Rishabh Bajaj in Kasauati Zindagi Kay, Ronit Roy will switch over to another popular character on Indian television.

Ekta Kapoor's [Images] Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki will see him play Bhishma, earlier played by Mukesh Khanna in BR Chopra's version of Mahabharat.

He talks to Rajul Hegde about his new role.

How did you get the role?

Ekta Kapoor told me that she was making a spectacular Mahabharat, and I said that I would love to be part of the show. I read the Mahabharat, and was convinced that if there was a character I wanted to play, it had to be Bhishma. I sent an SMS to Ekta and told her that I wanted to play Bhishma. She agreed.

Why did you want to be a part of this show?

I respect Ekta Kapoor's creative judgments, and I like working with her. I only take up projects that excite me and feel passionate about. When I was approached for Mahabharat, I had informed Balaji that I wanted to finish my current projects and then start with this show and they agreed.

Why Bhishma?

Bhishma is one of the most powerful and beautiful characters in Mahabharat. The character is larger in magnitude and I am proud that I am playing Bhishma. At the same time, I'm very scared and nervous too.

The first face that comes to mind when you think of Bhishma is Mukesh Khanna.

I am proud to play the character of Bhishma, which Mukesh Khanna essayed in B R Chopra's Mahabharat, and made history. The new generation has not seen the old Mahabharat; they will be seeing it for the first time. So it will be a big challenge to get accepted. It's a huge task and I will try my best to justify the role.

Mukesh Khanna said in an interview that it is dangerous to remake an epic and that it will be a flop.

Mukesh Khanna is a senior actor; he has every right to give his opinion. As far as the show is concerned, whether it is going to be a hit or a flop, we will know once it goes on air on July 7. Let us leave it to the audience.

Since this is your first mythological show, did you have any problem with the dialogues?

I speak good Hindi. I had a problem with chaste Hindi for a couple of days. Now, I'm used to it.

What kind of preparation did you do for this role?

I prepared at two levels. One, being the son of Ganga signifies purity. He would also have the qualities of his father, Shantanu, a Kshatriya king. The journey of Bhishma from Gangaya to Bhishma Pitama reflects various shades. To depict so many shades makes it challenging for an actor. I have to keep both in mind and make sure my mannerisms fit my character.

Tell us about your look.

The look and the costumes are very different from what we would normally imagine. We don't have mukut and golden armour. There is a different kind of headgear for different characters. I am very comfortable with the traditional costume, dhoti.

Tell us about the shooting experience.

I have been shooting for this show for the last two months in Wai, Ladakh, Jaipur and Mumbai. We shoot for 10-12 hours a day. We are trying to keep an episode bank since the show will be aired before the scheduled time.

It has been a fantastic experience. This show is produced by one of the biggest production houses, Balaji Telefilms. Ekta has a great vision and is producing Mahabharat on a bigger scale than the earlier one.

What next?

I am just doing Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Mahabharat.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/jul/01roy.htm

'It will be challenging to play Bheem'

June 30, 2008 13:30 IST

Chetan Hansraj plays the pivotal character of Bheem in Ekta Kapoor's [Images] Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki. But this is not the first time Chetan is part of a mythological show.

Ironically, Chetan starred in the earlier Mahabharat, produced by B R Chopra, as well. He was about 15 years old, and played the young Balram. He has also been a part of Prithviraj Chauhan, playing the negative character, Bheemdev.

Chetan has not started shooting for Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki yet. Though the serial will premiere on July 7, his portions will be shot only after 10 days.

He spoke to Rajul Hegde about his Mahabharat experience.

Tell us about the lavish sets, locations and costumes.

It is a spectacular set. We are shooting in Mumbai, Wai, Ladakh and Jaipur.

Manish Malhotra has designed the costumes. The costumes and jewellery are traditional, but with a modern and fresh look. It does not fall into the mythological stereotype. Audiences will be able to relate to it.

What kind of research have you done for your character, Bheem?

I have not read any book on the Mahabharat before. Now, I am reading one to know the character better.

Bheem had a great body, so I have being working on it. I have to look like an able-bodied man, who can defy his enemies. I am trying my best to look good on screen. I'm having high protein food now. I have eggs and cornflakes for breakfast, and roasted chicken and boiled vegetables for lunch and dinner. I avoid potatoes and rice.

Did the concept of six pack abs exist in those times?

How do you know it was not there?

What kind of response have you got?

Everybody loved the promos and I am very happy with it.

Since the show has been advanced, is the cast working harder?

All of them are working round the clock. They have started shooting the childhood of the Pandavas and the Kauravas.

You played junior Balram in B R Chopra's version of Mahabharat.

I had played that role years ago. It was the role of a lifetime for any actor. I feel I'm coming home, since I am playing Bheem.

I had a problem with the dialogues when I played Balram. Even now, it was tough initially. But it will be challenging.

You have played negative characters in most of your shows. Do you think people will accept you in this new avatar?

I played a positive role in Kkusum but my negative character Sasha in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki made me popular. When they accepted me in that, I am sure they will accept me in my new avatar also.

Are you still in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki?

Right now, my character in Kahani is not being shown. So I am only doing Kahani Hamarey Mahabharat Ki and a reality show, Kaun Jeetega Bollwood Ka Ticket.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/jun/30chetan.ht

Vishal was earlier a dance teacher. "Yes I was working as a dance teacher but then I started getting offers for acting after doing commercials and short films."

Vishal has finished shooting for Anubhav Sinha's Kabutar and Red Alert. He also worked in Chandni Bar, Munnabhai M.B.B.S and Tango Charlie.