Arpit Ranka is getting rave reviews for playing the role of Duryodhan in Siddarth Kumar Tewary's version of Mahabharat. Though he is not new in showbiz, after winning the best body title in Gladrags in 2006 and doing some Telugu movies, this is the first time that he is doing a show of such a huge scale. In a candid chat, Arpit talks about his role, Bollywood aspirations and how he handles female adulation.

On his role as Duryodhan he says, ` I have worked very hard on my body by working out religiously for hours. I have been growing my hair for the past few months and have also worked on my body language. Be it working out or following a strict diet, I have made lot of sacrifices for the role. Being a vegetarian my only source of protein was protein shakes. Besides this, I had to learn how to ride horses, sword fighting and Gada yudh.

He says that initially he was keen on doing shows only and he was not keen on doing this show. However, after speaking to the creative team he realized that this was indeed a dream role for him to debut in Television. It was a challenging role and he had to train and prepare for the role, which made it very challenging for him. Besides the challenge, the costumes, script attracted me and it was grand show.

Though he is painted as the villain by history, I completely empathise with him. Since his birth he was told that the kingdom of Hastinapur was his and he did everything in his power to get. Like him if he wanted something he will do anything and everything in my power to get it. He thinks whatever Duryodhan had done was justified. Maybe he would have reacted the same way like Duryodhan.

To quick questions he responds that Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and John Abraham had great bodies but Abraham is a bit ahead from amongst the three.

In Bollywood it was only Sanjay Dutt who would suit the role of Dhuryodhana. He has the looks and personality to carry off that role. Moreover he does 'Khalnayak' role with utmost perfection.

He admits that he would love to do a Bollywood movie. Would love to be paired opposite Deepika Padukone.

On getting female attention he says that he was flooded with fan mails and messages since he had come on the show. He was humbled by all the love and appreciation that is coming his way.