Indian epic ‘Mahabharat’ returns to the small screen post-IPL

If you happened to be a child of the ’80s, growing up in India, chances were Sunday mornings bore witness to empty streets as families gathered around television sets for mandatory viewing of the epic ‘Mahabharat’.

So great was its fan following between 1988 and 1990, that even the BBC snapped up its rights to air it on Sunday afternoons with subtitles; something that was virtually unheard of back in the day.

Few have dared to recapture that B R Chopra magic and the legendary production, but all that looks set to change as the epic is poised for reboot under the guidance of

Siddharth Tewary and his Swastik Productions.

In an ironic twist in the reboot, actor Puneet Issar, who played arch villain Duryodhan in the original, will return to the epic in a new avatar as the guru Parshuram.

Meanwhile, Sameer Dharmadhikari, who was last seen in ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’, will essay the role of Shantanu – King of Hastanapur – who marries Ganga (played by Vivana Singh).

Based on the ancient mythological text, the show is being shot in a small village of Gujarat, with parts capturing the snow-clad mountains in Kashmir; it is to be aired on Star Plus post the Indian Premier League.

The promos of the show are already being aired.

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