Juhi Chawla Was Approached For The Role Of Draupadi In Mahabharat And Chose To Decline It. Here’s Why We Think It Was A Good Decision
Thinking back to the moment when all of us got our first big break in the industry we wanted to build our career in always comes with a bit of nostalgia and lot of either relief or regret. It was the decision that either helped you take off in your career or gave it the several hiccups it got, and going back to the moment where you chose your fate is a different feeling altogether, especially now since you know how well or badly it worked out for you. As has been the case with the actors who were cast in the iconic TV show back in the day, Mahabharat.
Being aired back on TV after almost 3 whole decades, to keep the public entertained in times of the coronavirus, the show Mahabharat that used to be one of the most viewed and hit shows on the small screen, included in its cast a large number of actors and actresses who started their career off with this show on Doordarshan. Naturally, the casting for a show like this, involved a huge auditioning process for the several roles that were pivotal to the script, and so the director spent a lot of his time, trying to find perfect people for it.
One of the actresses who was picked for the important role of Draupadi in the story was actress Juhi Chawla, among others. A role that though critical to the script, was then turned down by the actress. aShe chose to stick with her dates to shoot for the film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak alongside of Aamir Khan. And the rest is clearly history.
Watch your favourite programme Mahabharat everyday at 12 pm & 07 pm on DD Bharati pic.twitter.com/OrKLJY9Xan
— DD Bharati दूरदर्शन भारती (@DD_Bharati) April 15, 2020
Also Read : TV Shows Like Khichdi And Sarabhai Vs. Sarabhai Are Making A Comeback In This Lockdown And We Are Reliving The Sepia-Tinted Memories Of Childhood
Yes, one might think twice before turning down a role as such in a show that till date seems to be relevant to the audience, but perhaps it was a smart decision made at her end, for quite a few actors and actresses who took up role in the series, ultimately found themselves firmly entrenched into the role. So much so, that it severely limited their options to be anything else but that. Be it Mukesh Khanna who played the role of Bhishma, and later gathered fame by playing Shaktiman on the small screen, or Roopa Ganguly who picked the role of Draupadi, they were all stuck working in the same kind of TV shows post that. With great success comes the pitfalls of it and in this case, the audience couldn’t see past their roles.
Juhi Chawla, on the other hand, moved to the silver screen and kept experimenting with the kind of roles she did, only to become one of the most celebrated actresses of the time. Other Bollywood actors like Govinda, Chunky Panday and the likes of them were too approached for roles in the show, as revealed by director, Puneet Issar. However they too turned it down and took their chances in the Bollywood industry, to go on becoming superstars.
