Did You Know Nitish Bharadwaj Initially Rejected Mahabharata’s Lord Krishna & Wanted To Play A Different Role? ( Photo Credit – Facebook ; Mahabharata Poster )
Advertisement
The Hindi-language epic television series Mahabharata, which aired from 1988 to 1990, was one of the most loved shows on television. Even after so many years, BR Chopra’s epic series is still remembered by many. Nitish Bharadwaj, who essayed Lord Krishna, rose to fame overnight.
Bharadwaj’s performance was loved and appreciated by the audience so much that he became synonymous with the role of Shri Krishna. But not many know that he initially did not want to play the role. Scroll down to understand why.
Back in 2020, when Mahabharata was retelecasted 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nitish Bharadwaj revealed how he was cast in BR Chopra’s iconic show. As reported by Times Now News, he said, “I was first cast as Vidur and called to the Seth studios for the shooting. When I was in the makeup room, Virendra Razdan came up in costume and said he was playing Vidur. I said, ‘How can you play Vidur? They have called me for the shoot’. I went inside to meet Ravi ji (Ravi Chopra). He told me, ‘You are hardly 23-24. After a few episodes, Vidur is going to be an old man. It won’t look appropriate’. After that, I was jobless as far as Mahabharat was concerned.”
Once more, Nitish Bharadwaj was asked to portray Nakul or Shadev, but he preferred to play Abhimanyu. BR Chopra promised the actor that the cast would consider Bharadwaj’s selection, but in the end, he was given the part of Lord Krishna.
When Nitish heard from his mother that Gufi Paintal was attempting to get in touch with him so the crew could test him for Krishna, he was preoccupied with a Marathi feature film. “I told my mother to say no as I felt I couldn’t do it. She used her wisdom and told Gufi that I was shooting in Kolhapur and she would be able to inform me about his offer only when I return,” Bharadwaj had said.
BR Chopra called Nitish Bharadwaj, but he didn’t answer. But, fate would bring the two people together later, and after some prodding, Bharadwaj would agree to give Krishna’s screen test, and ultimately history would be made.
