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The industry is in deep shock as Pankaj Dheer, known for his powerful portrayal of Karna in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat, has passed away. Pankaj died on 15th October 2025 at 68 after battling with cancer for years.
Once in an interview, he revealed an interesting twist that led him to the iconic role, something that he wasn’t initially supposed to play.
Back in the 1980s, this mythological series featured some of television’s most memorable performances from Mukesh Khanna as Bhishma to Nitish Bharadwaj as Krishna and Roopa Ganguly as Draupadi. But few know that before becoming Karna, Pankaj Dheer was first offered the role of Arjun, a role he turned down due to one surprising reason: his moustache.
In a throwback interview, Dheer recalled,
“When I auditioned, the dialogue writers Rahi Masoom Raza, Bhring Tupkari sahab, and Pandit Narendra Sharma ji were all there. They felt I was a great fit for the role of Arjuna. We shook hands, and I signed the contract.”
However, producer B.R. Chopra soon informed him that playing Arjun would also require him to portray Brihannala, Arjun’s disguise during exile — meaning he would have to shave off his moustache.
“I was like, ‘No way, I can’t do that.’ I explained that my face just wouldn’t look right without it. He replied, ‘Are you an actor or not? You’re turning down such a significant role over a moustache? I just don’t get it.’”
That disagreement escalated, and Dheer found himself out of Chopra’s office. As he later shared,
“Looking back, it was a foolish move on my part, but at that moment, I could only see things that way. Chopra sahab told me, ‘Get out of this door and don’t come back.’ He literally threw me out of his office. My contract was ripped up, and for six months, I wandered around doing dubbing work.”
But fate had other plans. When Chopra struggled to find the right actor for the role of Surya and Kunti’s son, he reached out to Dheer once again — this time to play Karna.
“Then Chopra sir called me back, and I believe that was destiny at play. He asked if I could take on the role of Karna. I was curious and asked him, ‘Sir, I don’t have to shave off my moustache, right?’ He assured me I wouldn’t have to. It truly felt like fate that I ended up playing Karna.”
And the rest, as they say, is history. Pankaj Dheer’s portrayal of Karna became one of the most defining performances in Indian television
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