EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Renu Chopra reveals how BR Chopra made Mahabharat on a loss of Rs 2 lakhs

In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, producer Renu Chopra reveals they made Mahabharat on a loss of Rs 2 lakhs a week.

By Shaibalina Choudhury

Updated on Feb 23, 2025 | 06:45 PM IST | 9.8K

(PC: Pinkvilla)

B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat hanged the television landscape in India. The popular serial aired in the late 80s created many records and earned immense popularity. While B.R. Chopra produced the show, his son Ravi Chopra directed it. Recently, in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Renu Chopra, Ravi Chopra's wife, made an interesting revelation about the epic saga. They were initially at a loss while making Mahabharat, but they continued.

Renu Chopra tells us, "Pehle do teen episodes ke baad, jo company humein finance kiya tha, wo 6 lakh dete the. And pehle episode mein hi 7-8 lakh kharcha ho gaya tha. Toh Ravi came to his father and said, ‘Mein bahi bana sakta. Chahe mein kitna kar lu, ye 6 lakh mein nahi banegi.’”

(After the first two or three episodes, the company that was financing us used to give us 6 lakh. But in the very first episode itself, we ended up spending 7-8 lakh. So, Ravi went to his father and said, "I can't make this within 6 lakh, no matter how much I try.)

Watch the full interaction with Renu Chopra below:

Continuing to speak about Mahabharat, Renu Chopra adds, "Toh he said 'Tum jo bana rahe ho? Khush ho na?' He said, 'haan.' Toh his father said, ‘Tum dil se banao, paiso ka chinta maat karo. Paisa baad mein ayega.’”

(His father asked, "Are you happy with what you're creating?" Ravi replied, "Yes." So his father said, "Then make it from your heart. Don't worry about the money. The money will come later.")

"So, actually jab hum bana rahe the, we used to be at a loss of 2 lakhs every week. Baad mein, things came around eventually. I am sitting here only because we had Mahabharat to back us, financially, and a lot of other things," concludes Chopra.

Mahabharat was a popular TV series aired on Doordarshan from 1988 to 1990. Ravi Chopra, the son of B. R. Chopra, directed the show. Nitish Bharadwaj played the role of Krishna and Mukesh Khanna portrayed the role of Bhism pitamah. Actress-turned-politician Roopa Ganguly was seen as Draupadi.