Doubled up: A Wknd interview with Mukesh Khanna of Shaktimaan

The creator and star of India’s first TV superhero series is now 63. He’s about to begin work with Sony Pictures on a series of films based on his 1990s creation. Excerpts from a candid conversation.

In Episode 1 of Shaktimaan, unleashed on Doordarshan in 1997, Mukesh Khanna glides through the air to land atop a Mumbai high-rise. Bullets bounce off his chest as he introduces his character: “Neither am I an incarnation nor an angel. I am the enemy of evil...,” says Shaktimaan.

This was Indian television’s first Indian superhero, created, written and portrayed by Khanna. The red-and-gold suit and arms-akimbo stance would become so iconic, you can still see echoes of it in works as marvellously crafted as the 2021 Malayalam film Minnal Murali.

Back to Shaktimaan; for seven years, children arranged breakfast and play schedules around the show’s slots of Saturday morning and Tuesday evening. Their hero was bombastic but they could see he had his heart in the right place. He zoomed and flew as best he could, with the visual effects available in the ’90s. He was earnestly preoccupied with defeating evil.

Speaking to Khanna, now 63, one sees at once where Shaktimaan gets those qualities. Khanna is, after a bit of a hiatus, a man in demand. Sony Pictures has announced that it is adapting Shaktimaan for the big screen, as a trilogy, in partnership with Khanna’s production house, Bheeshm International. What does he wish to say to fans past and future? Excerpts from an interview.

How did you come up with Shaktimaan?

We didn’t have an Indian superhero, and our children were playing with toys based on American characters like Superman and Spider-Man. I always wondered, can’t we have our own superhero? I had this idea and we took a leap of faith, even though the director was afraid of the budget requirements. I didn’t expect the show to take off the way it did.

What were the challenges of shooting a superhero show in the 1990s?

It was a big challenge. Green curtains and blue curtains were new to us. You had to go up on scaffolds, hang from wires. But I wanted to do it because I could see that this was something different.

I would sometimes dangle off wires for five to seven minutes at a time. The fight master would tell the duplicate fighters, “See how Mukesh is dangling.” At the time, we did everything ourselves. I stood at the edge of 14-floor buildings for shots. It’s much easier now, and special effects take care of many things, which is why it’s about time a Shaktimaan movie was made.

The generation that grew up with my show is grown-up now. They are parents and they want to share Shaktimaan with their children. They are most excited about the movie trilogy...

Looking back, I think Shaktimaan was the perfect combination. We spoke about yoga and kundalini. He was all-powerful, but didn’t use guns. At most he would lift the villains up and throw them into the brahmand (universe). I believe we should take this philosophy forward even in the film.

There were cases of children doing copycat stunts…

We realised early on that kids were trying to jump and spin and do other things as Shaktimaan did. So I had to include a message that Shaktimaan can do these things because he has special powers.

Kids are impressionable and Shaktimaan was fascinating for them. I heard that children got the idea that if they jumped, Shaktimaan would come and save them. There was even a case. We investigated incidents and different reasons were found for them. But I had to explain on the show that Shaktimaan can do this but you cannot and should not. I would state that message at the end of each episode.

How did the success of the show change things for you?

Shaktimaan gave me a second image, after Bhishma Pitamaha in the Mahabharat series. I am lucky to have had two very different images. Throughout my life I have had to speak to elders differently, and hand out chocolate bars to children.

How did these two characters shape your career?

Before Mahabharat, I was in 15 or 16 films. Some released and flopped. After the success of Mahabharat (which premiered in 1988), I got roles in films like Saudagar (1991), Saugandh (1991), Tahalka (1992). So a non-successful actor became an actor who was always asked “Where were you all this time?” I said, I was right here, but you need to see success. With Bhishma Pitamaha, I became a household name. It gave me 60 more roles, and it gave me my production company, which made Shaktimaan, a role that also changed my image.

However, because of these two images, I don’t take villains’ roles. That is also why I don’t take roles where I need to have a beard, because Bhishma Pitamaha exhausted me with wearing a beard. Now I am saying no to romantic scenes also and I have stopped playing father roles. I am a choosy man.

Who is Mukesh Khanna when he is not in beards, superhero costume or on set?

My life is without a wife. I have lived my life the way I want to, without compromise, on my terms. I know how to say no and will only do what I want to do. My extended family lives with me and I have my production company and staff. I also have my YouTube channel.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

I would like to have the superpower to change India into something positive. Everything is negative right now — ambition, politics, drugs. I would change people’s minds to understand, to make them honest. I have spoken up against malpractices in politics, medicine and education. If I had the power to wield an honesty danda (baton), then I would change India into the superpower that it could be.

Who are your favourite superheroes?

Superman was my favourite, but before that it was Hanuman. He was the original superhero in our country. I hope the Shaktimaan movies open the door to many more Indian superhero films.

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FAST FACTS

* Mukesh Khanna, 63, was born in Mumbai in 1958. He is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). He created, produced and starred in Shaktimaan, a Hindi TV series that featured India’s first home-grown small-screen superhero. The show ran for seven years.

* He served as chairperson of the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI), but resigned in 2018, two months before the end of his three-year term, to protest not being able to execute his ideas for the society. * Khanna’s YouTube channel Bheeshm International, started in 2019, crossed the one million subscriber mark last week. On it, he posts opinions and interviews, as well as clips from the dubbed Hindi version of the animated English series Shakti-maan, which ran from 2011 to 2013.