Puneet Issar Opens Up On Playing Duryodhan In Mahabharat, Says He Took Hatred As Compliment
Interestingly, Puneet Issar is the only actor who played a role in both the versions of Mahabharat. In the Star Plus show, he played the role of Parshuram. About playing Duryodhan, he says, he takes people's hatred as compliment.
Did you know BR Chopra wanted Puneet Issar to play the role of Bheem but he instead chose to play Duryodhan? He chose to essay this character because he knew "the importance of Duryodhan¡¯s character in Mahabharat."
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"I had read this book called Jayadrath Vadh. It is maha-kavya by Maithli Sharan Gupt. It's in poetry form and I knew it by heart. I recited Jayadrath Vadh and was immediately chosen to play Duryodhan. That¡¯s how I got the role," he told India Today in an interview.
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Interestingly, Puneet Issar is the only actor who played a role in both the versions of Mahabharat. In the Star Plus show, he played the role of Parshuram. About playing Duryodhan, he says, he takes people's hatred as compliment.
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"I realised my character has become popular when everywhere I went, people would call me ¡®dusht¡¯ (evil) with so much hatred. I took it as a compliment as I realised that I must be doing a good job (laughs)," he told Indian Express.
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The role wasn't easy to play. Puneet Issar said that he suffered a lot of injuries while filming the climax scene.
"The mace in those days used to be very heavy, unlike the foam mace used at present. My entire body used to turn black and blue after the shot. The fight in the climax scene was shot over 18 days. I had bruises all over my body," he told Hindustan Times.
After a successful re-run on Doordarshan, Mahabharat is now airing on Colors.
Garima Satija leads the Entertainment vertical of Indiatimes. A storyteller at heart who enjoys the thrill of writing, she is sometimes found daydreaming about living the lives of movie characters. Also, she hates talking about herself in the third person.
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