When actor refused to play Arjuna in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, producer threw him out, then requested him to…

Pankaj Dheer as Karna in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat

The death of Pankaj Dheer aka Karna from BR Chopra’s Mahabharat has shocked his fans. Pankaj lost his battle with cancer and passed away at the age of 68. The actor, who struggled with this disease for years, gave up on life on October 15, 2025. Today we will share an interesting information about the role that changed Pankaj’s destiny.

The 1988 serial Mahabharat became a cult hit among the masses. Mukesh Khanna (Bhishma Pitamah), Nitish Bhardwaj (Lord Krishna), Roopa Ganguly (Draupadi) and Puneet Issar (Duryodhana) and Pankaj were among the crowd favourites. The epic TV show based on the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata is produced by BR Chopra. It also starred Praveen Kumar as Bhima and Firoz Khan as Arjuna. Did you know that Pankaj was first offered the role of Arjuna and not Karna?

When Pankaj refuses to play Arjuna

Arjuna was first offered to Pankaj Dheer, but he refused on the condition that he not shave his moustache. Talking about the same in Lehren Retro, Pankaj recalled, “When I auditioned, the dialogue writers Rahi Masoom Raza, Bhring Tupkari sahab and Pandit Narendra Sharma ji organized a panel together. They all thought that I would suit the role of Arjuna very well. We shook hands for it and I signed the contract. Then BR Chopra called me and said that I should also play this role. He is Brihannala’s (eunuch form of Arjuna) and for that I will have to shave his mustache. I said, ‘No, I can’t do this.’ I told him that the balance of my face was such that I would not look beautiful if I shaved my mustache. He asked me, ‘Are you an actor or what?’ he said. You’re leaving such a big role because of your moustache. I can’t understand this.”

When BR Chopra threw Pankaj out of office

The veteran actor further added that due to his condition, BR Chopra kicked him out of the office but later asked him to play Karna in Mahabharat as he could not find a suitable actor to play Surya and Kunti’s son. “It was my great stupidity, but that’s all I could understand at the time. Chopra sahab told me, ‘Get out of this door and never come again’. He threw me out of his office. My contract was torn up and I continued to wander around and do dubbing for six months. Chopra sir called me again and I call it fate. He asked me if I could play the role of Karna. I told him, ‘Sir, I don’t need to shave my moustache, do I?’ I asked. He said no. It was destiny that I got the role of Karna,” concluded Dheer.