20 saal baad: Ahsutosh Gowariker teams up with Nitish Bhardwaj for 'Mohenjo Daro'

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.