Amid Aamir Khan's Mahabharat skepticism, know how BR Chopra defended Muslim writer for iconic TV series

Bollywood Superstar Aamir Khan is gearing up for his dream project Mahabharat. The Laal Singh Chaddha actor recently revealed that the mega project will start production this year and it will be shot on a massive scale. However, Aamir's plans to adapt the Indian Epic Mahabharat into a series of films have received mixed reactions. While some seem to be excited, others doubt the decision. The rising scepticism is likely because of Aamir's religion. Amid this, here we bring an interesting tale when eminent filmmaker BR Chopra defended a Muslim writer for the 90's iconic TV show Mahabharat.

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BR Chopra's Mahabharat

Filmmaker BR Chopra's TV series Mahabharat which aired on Doordarshan, holds a special place in Indian television history, particularly for its faithful adaptation of the epic. The series aired on Sundays from 1988 to 1990 and the streets went empty as people were glued to the TV sets. While the TV series remains iconic, several actors garnered immense popularity such as Nitish Bharadwaj (Krishna), Mukesh Khanna (Bheesma), Feroz Khan (Arjun), Pankaj Dheer (Karna), Puneet Issar (Duryodhan), Gufi Paintal (Shakuni), Praveen Kumar (Bheem) and Gajendra Chauhan (Yudhisthir), to name a few.

The Inception of the TV Series Mahabharat 

In the 1980s, BR Chopra was asked by Doordarshan to make either Ramayana or Mahabharat. However, Chopra chose Mahabharat as he felt it needed a longer format like television and it was a big challenge. According to Chopra, Ramayana teaches what to do but Mahabharat teaches what not to do.

When Chopra made Mahabharat, some people were upset because he chose Rahi Masoom Raza, a Muslim writer, to write the adaptation of the Indian epic. However, Chopra believed that Raza was the right person for the job. The filmmaker knew that the writing was the most important part for which he trusted Raza for the work.

Earlier, in The Making of Mahabharat, Chopra said that making Mahabharat was a dream for many filmmakers, including him. But, he knew that the story was too big for a short film.

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Chopra said, "Every producer dreams of making Mahabharat. I also wanted to make it but I knew that you can’t make it in a three-hour film. If you want to make it, you have to make it in a long format, and the only option for that was television."

Chopra was aware that for Mahabharat's success, it needed to be easy for everyone to follow. With so many characters and events, the story needed to be clear. And, once the audience understood who the good and bad characters were, something was required to tie it all together.

How The Muslim Writer Came Onboard?

Chopra said that they needed a narrator for each episode to explain the events. After a lot of discussion, Raza came up with the iconic line, “Main Samay hoon" (I am Time) and suggested Time be the narrator. Chopra immediately agreed to the suggestion.

Chopra said, "All the restrictions that a Muslim man will write a Hindu story… People think of this as a Hindu story. We don’t think so but anyway… Everything just went out of the window. The way he wrote it, we signed him."

While many were not happy about Raza as the writer of the series,  Doordarshan also asked how a Muslim writer could write the show.

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Recalling the incident, Chopra's daughter-in-law said on Kapil Sharma's show, "Dad said Mahabharat isn’t Hindu or Muslim, it is the story of every family. There is dispute in every family. Every house should have a Mahabharat so people know what they should not be doing. If Rahi saab is asked to leave, then I will walk out as well."