Invariably, the question of whether power should be inherited or acquired by merit creates interesting allusions to modern-day political dynasties on the subcontinent. For viewers, the comparison would be with the Nehru family. Debashree Roy as Satyawati and Mukesh Khanna as BhishmaIt helps also to have Raj Babbar, V.P. Singh's most glamorous supporter, playing the role of wise King Bharat. Did Doordarshan ask Chopra to delete several minutes from the opening sequence because of its anxiety about the political allusions contained in the Mahabharat serial? Who ordered the cuts - the then director-general Bhaskar Ghose. Information and Broadcasting Minister H.K.L.
Bhagat or, the prime minister himself? Doordarshan sources maintained that the first few episodes of the serial were previewed by Ghose and members of the screening committee. But Mandi House did ask Chopra to make some cuts for 'technical reasons'. Rishabh Shukla as King ShantanuChopra himself insisted the cuts were made during editing, and not on Doordarshan's orders.
'Our job is not to draw parallels with anybody,' said Chopra. 'Our job is to tell the story of Mahabharat as we saw it. We would love it if Rajiv Gandhi saw it. But if he had we would have heard about it.' But the switch in the first episode from Bharat's durbar to his mother Shakuntala's chamber is abrupt, as is the transition from Bharat's reign to Shantanu's.
The cuts ordered by Doordarshan relate to this sequence. In the uncensored version, Bharat defends further his decision to deny his sons their right to the throne and reportedly declares that 'the king's duty is to consider the welfare of the kingdom, and not the welfare of his sons'. Nazneen as KuntiThe idea is expressed again in the second episode through Shantanu's son Devavrata (later transformed to Bhishma).