Meet actor who worked with Shah Rukh, Salman, Ajay Devgn, turned down offer to play Arjuna because of one condition, now his idols are worshipped in…

The film industry has seen many star actors having a roller coaster ride in their careers. You may have come across stars who lost their roles due to various reasons, but one such actor who had worked with big names like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. He turned down a lifetime opportunity because of one small condition. We are talking about the epic series of Mahabharat aired on Doordarshan. Can you guess which actor refused to play the role of Arjuna?
This actor refused to do Arjuna’s role, here’s why…
Produced by BR Chopra, the Mahabharata epic casts Mukesh Khanna as Bhishma and Nitish Bhardwaj as Lord Krishna, Roopa Ganguly as Draupadi and Puneet Issar as Duryodhana. Several other roles were played by Gajendra Chauhan as Yudhishthira, Praveen Kumar as Bhima, Firoz Khan as Arjuna, Sameer Chitre as Nakula, and Sanjeev Chitre as Sahadeva.
But this actor refused to play the role of Arjuna, because of one such reason. Did you know that actor Pankaj Dheer was the first choice to play Arjuna in Mahabharat who declined the offer due to one condition? The makers asked Pankaj to shave off his moustache, which he did not agree to. In a candid interview with Lehren Retro, Dheer recalled, “When I gave my audition, dialogue writers Rahi Masoom Raza, Bhring Tupkari sahab and Pandit Narendra Sharma ji had a panel together. They all thought that I would suit the role of Arjuna well. We shook hands on that and I signed the contract. Then BR Chopra called me and told me that since I would also have to play the role of Brihannala (the eunuch form of Arjuna) and for that I would need to shave off your moustache. I was like, ‘No, I can’t do that.’ I told him that my face’s balance is such that if I shave off my moustache, I won’t look good. He told me, ‘Are you an actor or what? You are leaving such a big role because of a moustache. I can’t understand this'(sic).”
Pankaj Dheer instantly regretted turning down the offer of Arjuna after BR Chopra threw him out of the office after he declined the offer. Later when Pankaj was given the role of Surya and Kunti’s son. Later he requested BR Chopra to let him play Karan.
The veteran actor added, “It was my big stupidity but at that time, I could understand only this much. Chopra sahab told me, ‘Get out of this door and don’t come back.’ He threw me out of his office. My contract was torn and for six months I kept roaming around and doing dubbing. Chopra sir called me again and this is what I call destiny. He asked me if I could do Karna’s role. I asked him, ‘Sir I don’t have to shave off my moustache right?’ He said no. It was destiny that I got Karna’s role (sic).”
After appearing in the epic series of Mahabharat, Pankaj Dheer’s career got a boost when he went on to work with big names like Shah Rukh Khan in Baadshah, Salman Khan in Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge and Ajay Devgn in Zameen.