India’s love for its mythological characters has always been over the top, and there is no denial to that. But many a times the audience falls in love with the actors who play those characters as much as the character itself. BR Chopra’s Mahabharat is one show that has the audience glued to their television screens to this date. The show was originally aired in the year 1988, but it started its re-run on DD Bharati on March 28, 2020. Soon three other channels, that is, Colors TV, DD Epic and Star Bharat, increased the popularity of the show among the millennial kids.

All the characters of the show had their special impact on the audience, but Pankaj Dheer, the actor who played Karna, seemed to have some special effect on the minds and hearts of audience. Speaking about how peculiar actors and great minds made the show so popular, Pankaj Dheer says that even today after all these years when you see the show on Colors TV, you see that everything that worked yesterday works today. While speaking about his character, he says that he had no reference to his character, so his whole character was built on the basis of his own understanding and intellect. He says that he was playing besides two very dramatic characters, Shakuni and Duryodhana. So to make his character special, he had to underplay the role, which actually worked for him. He received immense love and affection for his performance in the show.

Speaking further about the love from audience, Pankaj mentions that people adored him for his work, and that even today in the textbooks of school, he can see his picture to reference Mahabharat. So until his pictures are in those textbooks, people will keep appreciating his work as Karna. He further spills the beans by saying that there are places in Karnal and Bastar where there are temples that has his almost 8 feet tall statues and people actually worship it. He says that he has visited these places and people there love him from the bottom of their hearts. He also mentions how grateful he is for the love and affection he receives from these people.