Whenever anybody says Lord Krishna, Nitish Bharadwaj's face pops up. He is part of our collective nostalgia now as Krishna from B R Chopra's Mahabharat. Although he played Lord Vishnu and Ram as well but the 23-year old Bharadwaj remained our Krishna forever. Even today, it takes time for us to warm up to any other actor playing the godly role. But did you know the man was criticised after the first episode of Mahabarat was aired on Doordarshan? Bharadwaj revealed it in an interview. Nitish Bharadwaj Birthday Special: Here’s How the Actor Got Finalised To Play Lord Krishna in Mahabharat!.

Speaking to Rediff a few years back, Nitish Bharadwaj revealed, "I shot eight episodes. After the first episode went on air, BR uncle called me and said, 'Beta, bahut phone aaye hain aur negative bol rahe hain. Yeh Krishna to fail hogaya.' (Son, I have received many phone calls and they are all negative. This Krishna has failed.) But he said he had faith in me, and that we should just wait and watch." Interestingly, the actor predicted the episode which will change people's views about him. Nitish Bharadwaj Reacts on Being Called 'Diplomatic' By Mukesh Khanna, Says 'It Helps In Not Hurting People Unnecessarily'.

"I told him that from the Subhadra haran episode, Krishna will be loved (the episode where Krishna helps Arjun kidnap his lady love Subhadra). And that is exactly what happened," he recalled. This is what happens when you have confidence in your craft and patience to endure brickbats. Nitish Bharadwaj is truly an inspiration.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 02, 2022 08:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).