Mukesh Khanna on making Shaktimaan for Gen Z:

During this interview, Mukesh Khanna, best known for playing Bhishma Pitamah in Mahabharat and the iconic superhero Shaktimaan, makes it clear that his journey has always been on his terms. Describing himself as a “dramatic actor,” he shared that he has acted in only 60 films, waited nearly eight years before his breakout role, and never chased fame or work. “God has given me a lot of security… I have never been over-ambitious,” he said. Now, as he steps into Gujarati cinema for the first time, the veteran actor opens up about playing India’s OG superhero, why Shaktimaan can’t be compared to the Avengers, his views on Gen Z, and the disciplined lifestyle he has lived by for decades. Read the edited excerpts below.

Q. You’ve been in the entertainment industry for over four decades. How would you describe your journey?
Mukesh Khanna: My journey has been as per my terms. I live and work at my own expense. Whatever I have done to date has been at my own expense. So, I am not a struggler who will go to a party and ask for a film role. I have never asked anyone for anything. Whatever I have got, God has given. So, my journey has been superb; it’s more than I could have asked for.