The actor talks about the controversy over his recent comments about Sonakshi Sinha’s knowledge of Ramayan
Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; April 14, 2020)

Senior actor Mukesh Khanna recently took a dig at Sonakshi Sinha, saying that the rerun of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan on TV would help young people like her, who lacked knowledge about the epic. The comment was triggered by an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati last year, where Sonakshi didn’t know the answer to a question on Ramayan. Mukesh, who had played Bhishma Pitamah in BR Chopra’s 80s’ iconic TV show, Mahabharat, also lashed out at Ekta Kapoor for making a ‘modernised’ version of the epic on TV. BT questioned him about his controversial statements and here’s what he had to say. Read on...

After your comment on Sonakshi, her father Shatrughan Sinha, without naming you, questioned why is ‘someone’ trying to be the ‘guardian of Hindu religion’...
People have blown my comment out of proportion. I have known Shatruji for long and have immense respect for him. I took Sonakshi’s name as a mere example. It does not mean I was trying to demean her or question her knowledge. However, I am shocked to see how the current generation is not aware of many things. I am not claiming to be the guardian of Ramayan and Hindu literature, but as a citizen of India, I do feel that it is our duty to introduce our literature and history to today’s generation because they are more interested in TikTok and Harry Potter. Once again, if Shatruji feels that taking Sonakshi’s name was a mistake, then yes, it is. But, it was not intentional.

Nitish Bharadwaj has also lashed out at your comments, saying ‘Seniors seem worthy of respect, if they walk the path of empathy’ towards the younger generation. Your take?
Should I not say anything just because today’s generation will stop respecting me? I have never minced words and have always been honest about my thoughts, but Nitish Bharadwaj is diplomatic. He has also said that the current generation will never know about Ramayan and Mahabharat because our school textbooks don’t have any chapters on the epics. Well, there are no chapters on Harry Potter either, but the young generation knows about it. When we were growing up, our textbooks didn’t have chapters on the epics, but our parents introduced us to them.

Puneet Issar, too, has condemned your comments and feels that as you age, you should show some grace...
Puneet is just trying to promote his play, which glorifies Duryodhan. He feels that it is his interpretation of Mahabharat and Duryodhan’s character. He also feels that Ekta Kapoor’s Mahabharat was her interpretation of the epic. Well, Ekta’s Mahabharat looked like Greeks were playing Hindustanis. I do have the right to say that these versions are not based on the original, and they should watch the reruns of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan and B R Chopra’s Mahabharat.