'Mahabharat' shooting location: Umargam, Nepal & other places where the 2013 show was shot

Star Plus' version of Mahabharat, which was telecasted in 2013, was an instant hit. From costumes, special effects to the cast, the makers and channel bagged praises from the critics and the audience for its performance. Apart from these aspects, the exotic locations also managed to grab attention. The shooting locations of Mahabharat (2013) also included Umargam. Read on to know in detail where was Mahabharat filmed.

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Mahabharat shooting locations

The mythological series was extensively shot at Umargam, district Valsad in Gujarat. Reportedly, the shooting in Umargam cost ₹100 crores to production with an average cost of  ₹13-15 lakhs per day. The set at Umargam was spread over 10 acres of land.  Apart from Umargam, the shooting places of Mahabharat 2013 across India included Jaisalmer, Amber Palace in Jaipur, Kashmir, Ahmedabad, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. Mahabharat's filming location was also scheduled in neighbouring countries, such as Nepal and Sri Lanka.

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Mahabharat (2013): Cast and production

The ensemble cast of the series had actors such as Saurabh Raj Jain, Shaheer Sheikh, Pooja Sharma, Aarav Chowdhary and Arpit Ranka, among many others, in the lead cast. Famous author Devdutt Pattanaik was roped in as the chief consultant and guiding person for the series. Meanwhile, writer Salim Khan, music directors Ajay-Atul and Ismail Darbar and action director Ram Shetty were also involved in the creation of the series.

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Reportedly, the series was considered as the costliest show ever launched by channel Star Plus. In addition, it was also reported that the series was one of the costliest Indian television series; being the first Indian television show to be made on a budget more than ₹100 crores. On the other side, during the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown in India, it started re-airing on Star Plus and became one of the most-watched Hindi GEC series.

Talking about the old Mahabharat, which featured Nitish Bharadwaj and Mukesh Khanna, it was produced under BR Chopra's production banner whereas the new version of the series was produced by Swastik Productions. The old Mahabharat was broadcast on Doordarshan in 1988 with a total of 94 episodes. And, the 2013 Mahabharat's total episodes were 267.

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