Over the years, countless versions of the Mahabharata have been retold across mediums. Yet, for many, BR Chopra’s 1988 version, remains a reference point.
At the centre of that enduring memory is Dr Nitish Bharadwaj, who played Krishna. His serene smile, timely delivery, and portrayal of Krishna’s diplomatic wisdom — particularly his rendition of the Bhagavad Gita — gave the character a timeless charm. More than 35 years later, he remains closely associated with the role, with audiences continuing to remember and discuss his portrayal.
As a result, when director, playwright, and producer Atul Satya Kaushik extended his draft of a play depicting events from the 13th day of the war, Dr Nitish worked with him. “He (Atul) brought this play to me where Krishna was not the narrator but Bhishma. Then I suggested that the narrator has to be a person who has already risen above his own chakravyuh, maze, and Bhishma is stuck in his own maze of pratigya (vow). And the only person who can be out of the maze in this story is Krishna. So, I gave him a different perspective — which is my perspective and what I always believed in,” explains Dr Nitish. The play has since been staged across the country for over a decade.
There were around four rounds of rewriting. Though this exercise created the play titled Chakravyuh, an acclaimed theatrical production was staged in namma Chennai on Saturday at Lady Andal Auditorium. The organising committee of the play included Ramji Agarwal, president, Sumit Kedia, secretary, Goverdhan Agarwal, chairman, and Ravi Saraf, co-chairman.
The play, Dr Nitish says, continues to be worked on. “We still want to add a concluding scene. Though the play concludes today, it is always nice to keep on improving. That’s the strength of theatre.”
The team is working on a long scene of Krishna, dealing with the futility of war. "Today’s world is at loggerheads. Wars are nothing but modes of money making," he notes. This is part of the larger vision by the organisers, Agratrade, in association with KRR Air Private Limited, to draw parallels on episodes from the Mahabharata to present perspectives on values and choices relevant to contemporary life.
For instance, the chakravyuh story of Abhimanyu. The seven people killed him during the Kurukshetra war. “How do you metaphorically think of these seven people? I interpret them as the seven doshas in a human mind — kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (attachment), mada (pride), matsarya (envy), alasya (ignorance). They are our own enemies,” he says. In addition, the play also focuses on single parenting. “In the Mahabharata, single motherhood was forced upon Kunti and Uttara; I touch upon that too in the play,” he adds.
The theatrical medium gives both the actors and the creative team the freedom to adapt and experiment with the production. “In theatre, you get immediate response. The presence of mind is always at work. At the same time, you have an opportunity to improvise on your script and a lot of other things,” notes Dr Nitish.
And on playing Krishna since the 1980s, he says as a parting note, “I started applying Krishna’s wisdom to what I am seeing in life. I follow Krishna’s path of karma. Come what may, I will not do anything wrong. Because karma knocks on every door.”