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Puneet Issar relooks at 'Mahabharata' from the eyes of its greatest villain

The play is also about the friendship between Karna and Duryodhana

Meghna Malik as Dharti Maa and Puneet Issar as Duryodhana
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Meghna Malik as Dharti Maa and Puneet Issar as Duryodhana

Veer Arjun Singh
Thirty years ago, Puneet Issar was on the wrong side when an epic war was being waged. He’s still on the wrong side.

In 1988, when B R Chopra’s adaptation of the Mahabharata had Indian audiences glued to their television screens, Issar played Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas whose pride and jealousy leads to his ultimate fall. 

Exactly three decades later, he returns, again as Duryodhana — only this time on stage. And he tells the story of the epic battle from the point of view of its greatest villain. Playing the part of the younger Duryodhana is his