Nitish Bharadwaj plays Lord Krishna after 25 years

[Thakur]

Nitish Bharadwaj became one of the most
successful and popular actors on television all
thanks to his portrayal of lord Krishna in
Doordarshan's hugely popular serial
Mahabharat. Back in 1988, Bharadwaj, then
just 23, became an overnight star and people
would touch his feet wherever he went. Now,
for the first time in 25 years, Bharadwaj has
made a comeback as Krishna on stage in his
theatrical offering, Chakravyuh, which was
staged in Lucknow on Saturday.
I AM QUITE LIKE KRISHNA Playing his
favourite character Krishna after more than
two and a half decades, has Nitish excited,
"Krishna will always remain my favourite role.
Krishna was a part of me not only as an actor
but his philosophy also pulled me through all
the lows and tough phases of my life. So I
believe that it has become a integral part of
me and I think I know him much better now
than I knew him while doing Mahabharat,"
says Bharadwaj.
After playing this iconic character, Bharadwaj
was seen playing Krishna in a slew of
mythological shows like Geeta Rahasya,
Vishnu Puran. He also played Ram in BR
Chopra's Ramayana in 2003, in which Union
Minister Smriti Irani played the role of Sita.
But Nitish says that though he has played
mostly mythological charaters, his approach
towards each role has been with a fresh
perspective. "Just because I did mostly
mythological serials doesn't mean that I
didn't treat them differently . They are
different characters for me and I feel the only
difference between mythological roles and
regular characters is of costumes."
READ: Comparisons with Nitish Bharadwaj
are most welcome: Saurabh Raaj Jain
FROM A VET TO A GOD Nitish has
experienced various spheres of life. From a
qualified veterinary surgeon to theatre artist,
from an actor to a director and then a
Member of Parliament, Bharadwaj has been
there, done that, but he finally got
contentment in acting. Says he, "Now I want
people to know that I am here to stay in the
entertainment industry as an actor and a
director. I believe all the artistes, be it
singers, dancers or actors, are very sensitive
people and they are affected by their
surroundings and what is happening in
society . So, after Mahabharat, I went to
London for theatre performances and radio
shows. There I realised that the image of
Indian politicians shown in British media was
only as gundas of UP and Bihar. So, when I
came back from England in 1995, I decided
to join politics and make people believe in
me. I wanted them to believe that here I am,
an educated, qualified man and I'm also an
Indian politician. I wanted to change so many
things in the Indian society. Finally, I was
elected to the Lok Sabha as a Member of
Parliament from Jamshedpur in 1996. I was
an active member of the Bhartiya Janta Party
till 2007 but then certain things did not work
out the way I wanted them to. So, then I
thought that I am wasting my time in politics
and I went back to Mumbai and started
focusing on films and theatre," informs
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