Mukesh Khanna is an Indian film and television actor best known for his role as “Bhishma Pitamah” in BR Chopra’s epic television series “Mahabharat” and giving India its first small screen superhero “Shaktiman.”
Wiki/Biography
Mukesh Khanna was born on Thursday, June 19, 1958 (age 65 years; in 2023) in Mumbai. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He attended the same school where famous Indian actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shakti Kapoor studied. He graduated from the College of St. Xavier Mumbai. He holds a B.Sc. degree and a degree in Master of Laws. Before doing a Masters in Law, he wanted to do Plastics Engineering. After that, he graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 6′ 1″
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Salt & Pepper
Family & Caste
Mukesh Khanna belongs to a Hindu Khatri family.
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information about his parents. He has a brother Ved Khanna (died in 2018) who is also an actor and producer.
Mukesh Khanna’s brother Ved Khanna with Asha Bhosle
His older brother Kamal Kapoor died of lung disease on 12 May 2021 after he recovered from COVID-19 a few days earlier.
Mukesh Khanna with his brother Kamal Kapoor
Relationships, Wife & Children
Mukesh Khanna is not married. He has never been in a relationship with a girl.
Career
Movie
After making her debut in the 1981 Hindi film Roohi, she appeared in more than 60 Bollywood films.
Mukesh Khanna Debut Film Roohi (1981)
Reportedly, before Roohi, it was theater director Narinder Bedi who had given Mukesh his first break in the film Khooni, but the film never got released due to Bedi’s sudden death. Although most of his films did not do well at the box office, there were some commercially successful films to his name, such as Saudagar (1991) in which he played the role of ‘Gagan,’ Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) in which he played the role of ‘Arjun Joglekar, ‘ Barsaat (1995) where he played the role of Baba (Badal’s father), Raja (1995) where he played the role of ‘Rana Mahendra Pratap Garhwal,’ and Hera Pheri (2000). ) where he played the role of ‘Police Inspector Prakash.’
Mukesh Khanna in Saudagar
In 2005, he made his Telugu debut with the film “Dhana 51.” In 2014, he made his Marathi film debut with the film ‘Ardha Gangu Ardha Gondya.’ In the same year, he made his Malayalam debut with the film ‘Rajadhi Raja’ in which he played the role of ‘Sikhander.’
Television
Mukesh Khanna gained his identity through television where he did many successful projects, especially Mahabharat and Shaktimaan. After making his debut with BRChopra’s Mahabharat (1988), he went on to become one of India’s most popular television actors. Initially, he was approached to play the role of “Duryodhana” in the Mahabharat, but he turned it down; because he doesn’t want to play a negative role. Later, he was offered the role of “Dronacharya” and finally, he got the role of “Bhishma Pitamah.” While talking about how he got the role of Bhishma Pitamah, he said,
When they were looking for people for this series, what they wanted was tall people so I got attention for that. They offered me the role of “Duryodhana” but it was a negative role and I turned it down. So I have landed with Bhisma Pitamah.”
Mukesh Khanna is gearing up as Bhishma Pitamah
His portrayal of the mighty warrior Bhishma Pitamah went on to become the second most iconic character from BR Chopra’s Mahabharat after Lord Krishna (portrayed by Nitish Bharadwaj).
Mukesh Khanna as Bhishma Pitamah in Mahabharat
His next phenomenal performance came in “Shaktimaan,” which gave India its first true superhero. Shaktimaan aired from 27 September 1997 to 27 March 2005 on Doordarshan, and its running days have become sacred for children who sit glued to their television sets to watch the heroic antics of their favorite superheroes. Shaktimaan is not just a superhero but a moral guide to children in India; a superhero who will not only amaze children with his heroic antics but with his baritone voice, he will also advise them to go to school regularly or drink milk every day. She spoke,
Shaktimaan has charisma and wants to make a difference to society. I remember many parents telling me that their children started drinking milk or going to school regularly after watching the show.”
Shaktimaan’s popularity led him to make a telefilm titled “Hamara Hero Shaktimaan” for the children’s channel Pogo, which aired on 30 June 2013.
The Shaktimaan franchise also includes an animated action series titled “Shaktimaan: The Animated Series,” created by Reliance Animation and aired on Sonic on December 20, 2011; finally, Discovery Kids acquired the rights from Reliance Entertainment in 2017.
Apart from Shaktimaan, Mukesh Khanna has also appeared in many other popular television projects, such as “Chandrakanta” (1994-1997) in which he played the role of Janbaaz/Meghawat and “Aryamaan – Brahmaand Ka Yodha” (2002-2003) in which he playing the role of Aryamaan/Ojwan.
Apart from acting, he has also produced several television projects, including Mahayodha, Shaktimaan, Aryamaan – Brahmaand Ka Yodha, Sautela, and Hamara Hero Shaktimaan.
Politics
After joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1998, he campaigned for the party in various elections across the country.
Mukesh Khanna campaigned for BJP in Delhi
Signature/Autograph
Controversy
Shaktiman and Child Death
After Shaktimaan aired on Doordarshan in the late 90s, several reports of children imitating Shaktimaan’s heroic antics started appearing on various media platforms; which caused many children to injure themselves and even die. Mukesh Khanna, in one of the episodes of Shaktimaan, had to explain things about Shaktimaan. In an interview, he said,
I feel very strongly about the well-being of children. So, in one of the episodes, we show how Shaktimaan is made, how everything is done on a computer, how he can’t fly. He is hanging on a rope.”
Words Insulting Women
In August 2022, he courted controversy after he uploaded a video on his YouTube channel ‘Bheeshm International’ in which he reportedly made derogatory remarks about women. Reportedly, in a video titled ‘Kya aapko bhi “aisi ladkiyan” lubhati hai???’ (Does this kind of woman attract you?), he said if a woman tells a man that she wants to have sex with him, she is not a woman but a sex worker (dhandha kar rahi hai). Later, Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Malliwal condemned her statement and lodged an FIR against her.
Favorite Things
Facts & Trivia
- Mukesh Khanna was just 30 when he portrayed Bhishma Pitamah in BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.
- He is not interested in the role of Bhishma Pitamah, instead he wants to play the role of Arjuna or Karna.
- Apart from being his favorite politician, in February 2015, he criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not including him in his Ganga cleaning campaign.
Mukesh Khanna with Narendra Modi, Gajendra Chauhan and Vinod Khanna
- Although he was a staunch supporter of the BJP, the National Conference (NC) brought Mukesh Khanna to counter NaMo’s impact in Jammu and campaigned for the party in Vijaypur during the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections.
Mukesh Khanna and Mukesh Rishi with NC candidate for Vijaypur, Surjeet Singh Slathia, during a public meeting in Vijaypur
- In an interview, when asked about his views on an ongoing television series based on history, he called it “absurd” and said,
Such dirty tricks with Indian history to get TRPs must be stopped, either through the Censor board, or an independent authority that oversees television programming.
- In the first 15 episodes of Shaktimaan, it has become the first Indian superhero, and every week, Mukesh Khanna used to receive more than 50,000 letters from the audience. It became an instant hit, and wherever he went, children would gather and ask him to fly like he did on screen.
- Shaktimaan was so popular that it was featured in many international tabloids, including The Wall Street Journal.
- Throughout his acting career, he never accepted a negative role. When asked why she was so hesitant about negative roles, she said,
I will never do negative and weak roles because I feel I have a responsibility to my audience. Morality is very important to me and I take my role very seriously and the image I project even more so. If I do a negative role, I believe I am sending a clear message to a man living in a chawl or ‘Rae Bareily’ that he too can be evil. I strongly feel that heroes should not do negative roles because people think that if a hero like xyz can do it why can’t he. They can deny their responsibility of moral obligation but I think that is wrong because ‘showbizz or no biz’ we are all responsible for the message we give because it has a strong impact. See even Manmohan Desai offered me a negative role right after ‘Pitamaha’ but I just didn’t want to do it, because negativism was not in me. I can’t do something I don’t have the capacity to do, and I still want to appear on screen as a strong person.”
- Such was Mukesh Khanna’s dedication to the role of “Bhishma Pitamah” that when Bhishma Pitamah took a vow of celibacy on screen, Mukesh actually vowed never to marry and have a relationship with even one woman.
- What Mukesh Khanna plays on screen, he also supports the same in real life, and he has never been spotted smoking or consuming alcohol. On the release of Ra.One, when Shah Rukh Khan said that it would be India’s first superhero, Mukesh Khanna insulted him for his smoking habit and said,
How can someone play a superhero for kids if he smokes in real life?
- In April 2015, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting appointed him as the Chairman of the Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI). However, he resigned in February 2018. .
- Mukesh Khanna owns the production company “Bheeshma Productions” and runs acting schools in Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra and Chandigarh.
- After the telecast of BR Chopra’s Ramayan and Mahabharat in March 2020, Mukesh Khanna took a dig at Sonakshi Sinha and said,
I think the reruns will be useful to many who haven’t seen the show earlier. It will also help people like Sonakshi Sinha who have no knowledge of our mythological story. People like him don’t know for whom lord Hunuman got Sanjivani. There is a video making the rounds where some men are asked Mama (uncle) who Kans is and they are afraid to answer. Some say Duryodhan, others say something else, so they don’t know the mythology.”
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
