Arpit Ranka, the main antagonist in Ekta’s Chandragupta Maurya; Papiya Sengupta roped in

Ekta Kapoor’s ambitious project, Chandragupta Maurya will be the next big historical show on TV. To be aired on Sony TV, the Czarina has already finalized her Chandragupta in popular actor Rajat Tokas. Joining him will be Shweta Basu Prasad as Nandini and Manoj Kolhatkar as Chanakya. Now, we hear of Mahabharat’s Duryodhan, Arpit Ranka being roped in to play the main antagonist in the show. He will be essaying the mighty role of Raja Padmanabhan, King of Kalinga. He was last seen in Nach Baliye. Also, joining them will be seasoned actress Papiya Sengupta in the role of Moora, Maurya’s mother. As per reliable sources, “Arpit and Papiya recently got finalized for the roles. The team will be shooting the pilot very soon, with these main characters.” When contacted, Arpit told us, “Talks are on, but nothing is finalized yet.” We tried contacting Papiya, but could not get through to them. Papiya is presently seen in & TV’s Yeh Kahan Aagaye Hum. We dropped a text message to Producer Ekta Kapoor, and the channel spokesperson, but did not get any revert. Watch this space for more updates.