EXCLUSIVE! Gajendra Chauhan AKA Yudhishthir: “Technically, Mahabharat Was Much Ahead Of Ramayan”

A majority of the population in India has grown up watching BR Chopra’s Mahabharat. We all remember the high pitch voice of singer Mahendra Kapoor who sang the title track. His voice used to give me goose-bumps as a kid. Due to the lockdown and no new episodes of the current shows, Doordarshan decided to bring back its popular shows – Mahabharat and Ramayan.

These are tough times but a lot of Indians are glued to the TV screens watching these show and reminiscing their good old days. These shows play a big role in the lives of every 90s kids. Koimoi had a candid conversation with actor Gajendra Chauhan who played the role of Yudhishthir in this 1988 show.

When I called the veteran actor first, he was watching his own show. In my second call, I could sense how elated Chauhan was as one of his iconic shows is back on TV. So what are his thoughts on Mahabharat returning on TV? Chauhan said, “When the show came on TV for the first time, people used to just watch it. It used to come weekly. Now, 2 episodes are aired daily. Currently, people are watching it to learn something out of it. The show teaches a lot in terms of boundaries and India’s culture and tradition, the duties of the king and the citizens. It’s good that the show is aired during the time of lockdown. In the show, Vidur says a few lines to Yudhisthir that are relatable today. The lines are – Vann ki akhir kaun prachit rehta hai? Wahi prachit rehta hai jo ghar mein hota hai’. Even Mahabharat has given a message to people to stay at home.”

Gajendra Chauhan also shared how his show doesn’t focus on religion but talks about the duties of people. The actor stated, “The good thing about both Mahabharat and Ramayan are they have no mention of any religion. These show focus on a person’s duties. I think there should be a period in schools where they tell people about Mahabharat. A few years ago, I went to a school in Delhi and they had a lecture on Mahabharat where they would show 45 mins episode from the show. Every year, they used to have one test based on it. These are good steps taken to make sure our future generation is well aware of India’s culture. There are a lot of Indians staying abroad who make sure their kids know about Ramayan and Mahabharat through whatever medium is available to them.: