Updated hypothetical Mahabharat cast...
For steelehearts, whose question I completely forgot about (sorry!)...
Yudhisthira.... Jackie Shroff
Bhima.... Chetan Hansraj
Arjuna.... Arjun Rampal
Nakula.... Akshaye Khanna
Sahadeva..... Rahul Khanna
Krishna... John Abraham (trust me on this one, watch him in Zinda... he can definitely pull off that not-quite-human angle)
Subhadra... Kareena Kapoor? (I'm normally not much of a fan of hers, but I can't really think of anyone else who could conceivably do it and still look like Subhadra)
Abhimanyu... Mohit Ahlawat (sans eyebrow piercing)
Satyaki... Saif Ali Khan
Draupadi.... I'm really not sure on this one... my first inclination would be to go with Nandita Das (because she'd actually look like Draupadi and I can trust her to actually be able to act, but I also want someone who has that actual fire-born "spark" that Rupa Ganguly had)
Dhristadyumna... Rahul Dev
Shikhandi... generic actor, preferably someone effeminate-looking
Drupada... Gulshan Grover
Bhishma... Ronit Roy (that voice)
Drona... the actor who was cast as Drona in KHMK... he was absolutely perfect
Vidura.... Naseeruddin Shah
Kripa.... Irrfan Khan
Duryodhana... Shiney Ahuja (part of my original casting... even looks half-Gandharan, and, to put it entirely insensitively, he's clearly established the fact that he can take advantage of his position to go after maids)
Karna.... Hrithik Roshan (now before you kill me, I can see Hrithik pulling off that whole why-does-the-world-hate-me existential angst thing... and he actually looks like someone who Yudhishthira would have been secretly afraid of)
Dushasan.... Emraan Hashmi... the man's positively scary... just watch Gangster...
Shakuni... just for kicks, Paresh Rawal (which would either be a recipe for total disaster or utterly brilliant casting... think about it, how chilling would it be to see him as Shakuni?)
Aswatthama... Ajay Devgan
Lakshamana... Gautam Gulati (played the young Duryodhana in KHMK)
Ekalavya... Kunal Khemu
Jarasandha... Sanjay Dutt
Shishupala... generic over-muscled insanely creepy type
Virata... Kay Kay Menon
Uttara... Vivek Oberoi
Uttaraa... Sonam Kapoor?
Dhritarashtra.... Kulbhushan Kharbanda... Dhritarashtra, though strong, strikes me as being a bit droopy.
Gandhari... Shabana Azmi... (she'd be terrifying)
Pandu... generic slightly depressed-looking older guy
Kunti.... Rekha (who else would be able carry the responsibility of raising 5 of the greatest warriors of Aryavarta?)
Yudhisthira.... Jackie Shroff
Bhima.... Chetan Hansraj
Arjuna.... Arjun Rampal
Nakula.... Akshaye Khanna
Sahadeva..... Rahul Khanna
Krishna... John Abraham (trust me on this one, watch him in Zinda... he can definitely pull off that not-quite-human angle)
Subhadra... Kareena Kapoor? (I'm normally not much of a fan of hers, but I can't really think of anyone else who could conceivably do it and still look like Subhadra)
Abhimanyu... Mohit Ahlawat (sans eyebrow piercing)
Satyaki... Saif Ali Khan
Draupadi.... I'm really not sure on this one... my first inclination would be to go with Nandita Das (because she'd actually look like Draupadi and I can trust her to actually be able to act, but I also want someone who has that actual fire-born "spark" that Rupa Ganguly had)
Dhristadyumna... Rahul Dev
Shikhandi... generic actor, preferably someone effeminate-looking
Drupada... Gulshan Grover
Bhishma... Ronit Roy (that voice)
Drona... the actor who was cast as Drona in KHMK... he was absolutely perfect
Vidura.... Naseeruddin Shah
Kripa.... Irrfan Khan
Duryodhana... Shiney Ahuja (part of my original casting... even looks half-Gandharan, and, to put it entirely insensitively, he's clearly established the fact that he can take advantage of his position to go after maids)
Karna.... Hrithik Roshan (now before you kill me, I can see Hrithik pulling off that whole why-does-the-world-hate-me existential angst thing... and he actually looks like someone who Yudhishthira would have been secretly afraid of)
Dushasan.... Emraan Hashmi... the man's positively scary... just watch Gangster...
Shakuni... just for kicks, Paresh Rawal (which would either be a recipe for total disaster or utterly brilliant casting... think about it, how chilling would it be to see him as Shakuni?)
Aswatthama... Ajay Devgan
Lakshamana... Gautam Gulati (played the young Duryodhana in KHMK)
Ekalavya... Kunal Khemu
Jarasandha... Sanjay Dutt
Shishupala... generic over-muscled insanely creepy type
Virata... Kay Kay Menon
Uttara... Vivek Oberoi
Uttaraa... Sonam Kapoor?
Dhritarashtra.... Kulbhushan Kharbanda... Dhritarashtra, though strong, strikes me as being a bit droopy.
Gandhari... Shabana Azmi... (she'd be terrifying)
Pandu... generic slightly depressed-looking older guy
Kunti.... Rekha (who else would be able carry the responsibility of raising 5 of the greatest warriors of Aryavarta?)