Showing posts with label Nitish Bharadwaj. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nitish Bharadwaj. Show all posts
Praveen Kumar Sobti of Mahabharat passes away; co-stars Puneet Issar and Nitish Bharadwaj remember him
7:47 AM
Avijit Ghosh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 9, 2022)
New Delhi: Olympian Praveen Kumar, who hurled his way to two gold medals in discus at the Asian Games and later drew instant recognition nationwide playing Bheem in ‘Mahabharat’ on television, passed away on Monday following a cardiac arrest at his Ashok Vihar residence. He was 74.
Built like a fort and an imposing six feet, six inches in height, Praveen Kumar Sobti had the power, coordination and body-size to excel in both discuss and hammer events. “If he had received the kind of training and other facilities available today, an Olympic medal would have been within his grasp,” Olympian and Asian Games gold medalist shot-putter Bahadur Singh told TOI.
When his stellar athletics career was on the wane in the 1980s, Bollywood stepped in. Ravi Tandon’s ‘Raksha’ (1982) marked his celluloid debut. He acted in about 50 films, notably ‘Meri Awaaz Suno’, ‘Khudgarz’ and ‘Shahenshah’. ‘Mahabharat’ (1988) changed his life and Bheem became one of the most-loved characters of the serial.
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Puneet Issar, who played Duryodhan, talks about their friendship over the years
Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; February 9, 2022)
Actor and four-times Asian Games medallist, Praveen Kumar Sobti, who played the iconic role of Bheem in Mahabharat, passed away yesterday at his Delhi residence.
Puneet Issar, who played the role of Duryodhan in Mahabharat, recalled how Praveen Kumar Sobti was Praveen paaji for him. Sharing an interesting story about how Kumar was cast as Bheem, Issar said, “B R Chopra, the producer of Mahabharat, wanted me to play the role of Bheem. But I had made up my mind that I would play Duryodhan. My physique and wrestler body suited the role of Bheem, so Chopra sir felt that I should be Bheem. But I was adamant to play Duryodhan and it became a task to find someone even stronger than Duryodhan to be cast in the show. Then I suggested Praveen Kumar’s name because he was an international athlete, 6 feet 8 inches tall, much taller than me. Praveenji agreed and the rest is history.”
Recounting the rapport they shared, Issar said, “I always called or met him when I visited Delhi. He had a great sense of humour. We had fight scenes in Mahabharat and looking at the promos, I remember how my daughter got terrified of Praveen ji bashing me up. He then came home and spoke to my daughter and made her feel comfortable. He was constantly cracking jokes and though we were enemies in reel life, we were like brothers in real life. In the past few years, he stayed at home and enjoyed his life peacefully.”
Issar also shared how the last scene in Mahabharat, where he had to fight Bheem, was one of the most remembered scenes from the show. He said, “I had to keep saying, ‘My body is now even stronger Bheem, come on, hit me’. And Bheem had to fight with me. It was one of the most challenging scenes we performed in our lives.”
HE WAS A MAN FILLED WITH GRATITUDE FOR LIFE: NITISH BHARADWAJ
Nitish Bharadwaj, who played Krishna in Mahabharata , says Praveen Kumar “was a man filled with gratitude for life. After he acted in Mahabharat and a few Bollywood films, he became a recluse and decided to live peacefully in Delhi. He was quite content with life. He was a man filled with a great sense of humour and never spoke bad about anyone. He suited the character of Bheem perfectly. When you thought of Bheem, only Praveen’s persona came to mind. No wonder he was known as the Gadadhari Bheem of Mahabharat.”
Sometimes divorce can be more painful than death as you live with an amputated core-Nitish Bharadwaj
8:20 AM
Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; January 18, 2022)
Mahabharat actor Nitish Bharadwaj has separated from his wife of 12 years — IAS officer Smita Gate. The couple parted ways in September 2019. They have twin daughters, who are currently living with their mother in Indore.
Speaking to BT about the separation, Nitish said, “Yes, I filed for a divorce in the Family Court in Mumbai in September 2019. I do not want to get into the reasons why we separated. The matter is in court right now. All I can say is that sometimes divorce can be more painful than death as you live with an amputated core.”
Both Nitish and Smita were married earlier. Expressing his thoughts on the institution of marriage, he said, “I am a firm believer in the institution, but I have been unlucky. Generally, the reasons for the breakdown of a marriage can be infinite, sometimes it’s because of an uncompromising attitude or lack of compassion or it could be a result of ego and self-centred thinking. But it’s the children who suffer the most when a family breaks down. So, the onus is on the parents to ensure that there’s children have to go through.”
So, is he in regular touch with his daughters? He replied, “I would like to reserve my comments on whether I am able to meet them or not. ”
We also reached out to Smita Gate, but she did not respond to our messages.
There was no need for Gajendra Chauhan to belittle Mukesh Khanna or indulge in personal slander-Nitish Bharadwaj
12:37 PM
Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; October 10, 2020)
The Mahabharat special episode on The Kapil Sharma Show has triggered off a Mahabharat of its own among its cast. Recently, Nitish Bharadwaj, Gajendra Chauhan, Arjun, Gufi Paintal and Puneet Issar, who were a part of the mythological, came together for a special episode of the comedy show. Mukesh Khanna stirred up a hornet’s nest when he commented on the quality of Kapil’s show and why he chose to not be a part of the reunion on it. In turn, Gajendra said it was a case of sour grapes for Mukesh because he was not invited on the show. He also referred to him as a “flop actor”, who does not have a PhD in Mahabharat.
This has not gone down well with the rest of the Mahabharat team. Nitish Bharadwaj, who played Krishna, expressed his unhappiness over the turn of events in an exclusive chat with BT. He said, “Five of us, who comprise the top cast of the show, are extremely unhappy with what is going on between Mukesh Khanna and Gajendra Chauhan. Firstly, I feel that every person is entitled to his or her views. If Mukesh had a view on Kapil Sharma’s show, it is his view, and if anyone has the right to react, then it should be Kapil and his team. Why is Gajendra talking on Kapil’s behalf or defending his show?”
He further added, “It is Mukesh’s view or choice why he did not want to be a part of the show. There was no need to belittle him or deride him and indulge in personal slander. Mukesh’s role as Bhishma Pitamah has surpassed all his other roles, and he played it to perfection.”
The actor finds this war-of-words between his co-actors distasteful. He elaborated, “It is not in good taste to comment on anyone’s performance or career. We have all seen how Gajendra has performed in films, politics and also, as FTII chairman. By commenting on Mukesh and his knowledge and performance, he is only venting out his frustration. All these years, the actors of Mahabharat have never been embroiled in any controversy, and we should maintain that decorum. All of us may not agree with Mukesh’s views, too, but this kind of personal slander was not required.”
Nitish concludes with a word of advice, “We, as artistes, should only take positives of others and move on, rather than focus on negative points. I would say that Gajendra should imbibe the restraint of his on-screen character, Yudhishthir, in his real life, too.”
There was no intention to demean Sonakshi Sinha-Mukesh Khanna
8:28 AM
The actor talks about the controversy over his recent comments about Sonakshi Sinha’s knowledge of Ramayan
Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; April 14, 2020)
Senior actor Mukesh Khanna recently took a dig at Sonakshi Sinha, saying that the rerun of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan on TV would help young people like her, who lacked knowledge about the epic. The comment was triggered by an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati last year, where Sonakshi didn’t know the answer to a question on Ramayan. Mukesh, who had played Bhishma Pitamah in BR Chopra’s 80s’ iconic TV show, Mahabharat, also lashed out at Ekta Kapoor for making a ‘modernised’ version of the epic on TV. BT questioned him about his controversial statements and here’s what he had to say. Read on...After your comment on Sonakshi, her father Shatrughan Sinha, without naming you, questioned why is ‘someone’ trying to be the ‘guardian of Hindu religion’...
People have blown my comment out of proportion. I have known Shatruji for long and have immense respect for him. I took Sonakshi’s name as a mere example. It does not mean I was trying to demean her or question her knowledge. However, I am shocked to see how the current generation is not aware of many things. I am not claiming to be the guardian of Ramayan and Hindu literature, but as a citizen of India, I do feel that it is our duty to introduce our literature and history to today’s generation because they are more interested in TikTok and Harry Potter. Once again, if Shatruji feels that taking Sonakshi’s name was a mistake, then yes, it is. But, it was not intentional.
Nitish Bharadwaj has also lashed out at your comments, saying ‘Seniors seem worthy of respect, if they walk the path of empathy’ towards the younger generation. Your take?
Should I not say anything just because today’s generation will stop respecting me? I have never minced words and have always been honest about my thoughts, but Nitish Bharadwaj is diplomatic. He has also said that the current generation will never know about Ramayan and Mahabharat because our school textbooks don’t have any chapters on the epics. Well, there are no chapters on Harry Potter either, but the young generation knows about it. When we were growing up, our textbooks didn’t have chapters on the epics, but our parents introduced us to them.
Puneet Issar, too, has condemned your comments and feels that as you age, you should show some grace...
Puneet is just trying to promote his play, which glorifies Duryodhan. He feels that it is his interpretation of Mahabharat and Duryodhan’s character. He also feels that Ekta Kapoor’s Mahabharat was her interpretation of the epic. Well, Ekta’s Mahabharat looked like Greeks were playing Hindustanis. I do have the right to say that these versions are not based on the original, and they should watch the reruns of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan and B R Chopra’s Mahabharat.
Hrithik Roshan said the name chameleon holds true in my real life too-Nitish Bharadwaj
7:56 AM
‘Ashutosh wanted to cast me in Jodhaa-Akbar, too,’ says Nitish Bharadwaj, who returns with Mohenjo Daro
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; July 18, 2016)
His charming smile and twinkling eyes made his
portrayal as Krishna in BR Chopra’s televised Mahabharat iconic. It is
over 25 years since he played the immortal role and several actors since
then have essayed the character, but no one has been able to recreate
that magic. In fact, so popular was Nitish as Krishna that he owned the
character and reprised it in different serials like Vishnu Puran and
Gita Rahasya. Lately, he has been donning the avatar for a play
Chakravyuh, too. However, the actor will now for the first time in 20
years be seen as a completely different character in Ashutosh
Gowariker’s upcoming film Mohenjo Daro. As Hrithik Roshan’s uncle,
Durjan Kaka, his role is as far away from Krishna as possible. In a
tete-a-tete, Nitish tells us why he was missing from the big screen, his
role in the upcoming film and his plans to direct a period film next...
What kept you away from films for so long?
I am doing various things in life. I love photography, have written a book In Quest of God: A Pilgrimage to Kailash-Manasarovar, directed a Marathi film Pitruroon and am now writing my second script for a Hindi film, which will be a period drama. The last one year I have been talking to endologists and archaeologists as part of research for my film. In between, I also anchored a TV show for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s channel and am doing the play Chakravyuh. But yes, as far as acting in films is concerned, my last release was K Vishwanath’s Sangeet with Madhuri Dixit and that was 20 years ago.
What prompted your comeback to films with Mohenjo Daro?
In terms of cinema nothing challenging and different was coming my way. Whereas Mohenjo Daro’s Durjan Kaka is completely different from what people have seen me as Krishna. Durjan is a mere mortal firstly and secondly unlike Krishna he is an emotional man. The only similarity is Krishna was a mysterious man and so is Durjan. And that has a huge impact on the entire story. Not only was the role challenging, even the look is completely different.
Tell us about it?
As Hrithik’s uncle I am supposed to be 20 years older to him, but I think in real life we must only be eight-ten years apart. Also, I am playing an indigo farmer. This was a huge challenge. We did not want to use prosthetics, because not only is it time-consuming, but it also looks artificial. It works if you have to show transformation from young to old or some kind of a syndrome like in Paa. So, Ashu and I had to work on the look. We decided I will sport a natural stubble, wear moustache and completely change the colour tone of my face and body. We tried various types of moustaches to go with the character of Durjan, who is a sensitive, emotional man, but a little mysterious. After trying seven-eight type of moustaches, one clicked with both of us. I went to Bhuj two days in advance and the first scene I shot was for the climax scene which probably appears in the last one minute of the film! That day Hrithik was not shooting. The next day when he arrived, Ashu showed him the scene and he was impressed. He said, ‘The actor is very good, who is he?’ and Ashu told him it was me. He was shocked — he had met me in my normal look — he said I had transformed completely, like a chameleon. When we interacted he also realised that I am into several things — I gave him my book, showed him the pictures I had clicked and he said the name chameleon holds true in my real life too!
Did you know Ashutosh from before?
Yes, Ashutosh and I are old friends. We have known each other since 1985. We used to hang out together when we were nobodies. Every other evening we used to meet at Ravi Baswani’s house – it was a common adda for many people including Irrfan (Khan). I met him there for the first time and cast him in my serial Gita Rahasya. As for Ashu he called me when he was doing Jodhaa Akbar too. He said ‘I want to work with you’, but he had a problem deciding which role he should cast me. He wanted to give me enough meat to act. He found that in Mohenjo Daro — it’s a tricky role and he didn’t want conventional casting — that of 65-year old man playing the role, because though Durjan is a farmer, he is elegant and cultured. I give him credit for this bold thinking because he did not worry about my image as Krishna. Nobody can take away that image, but he thought I had the ability to get away from my own image. That’s where my theatre background helps me — to experiment with various characters and to feel them.
Why did you choose to play Krishna again, after all these years, in the play Chakravyuh?
When the director came to me with the play it was the typical Chakravyuh story of Abhimanyu and did not have much to offer to Krishna. But his style was very good and poetic like Andha Yug, Rashmi Rathi — which I had not done. I told him look at Kunti and Uttara — they are the first known single mothers. Today it is a common phenomenon — either it is by choice or it’s thrust upon you. What are the challenges of bringing up a child for a single mother —how would it have been 1000 years ago when a woman was completely dependent on man. I told him we could talk about modern concepts arising out of the same story. The script was completely revamped and people loved it. Today, I have the satisfaction of giving something to my audience beyond my serial 20 years ago.
Your next directorial is a period drama. What is the fascination for history?
The fascination goes back to my childhood. My mother was a professor of literature in Wilson College and we had a huge library at home which I got in virasat. I read a lot of literature and history. Ancient India is so beautiful, so different from today’s India that it always attracted me. There’s Indus Valley, Harappa, the Gupta period, the different yugas, the various Inquisitions — they have had a huge impact on Indian civilisation. Wherever there were French colonies, Portugese colonies, etc their culture sponged off on Indian culture. Even the film I am writing dates back to ancient India. It offers me different visuals and challenges me. As an actor and director I want to be challenged.
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