Does Nitish Bharadwaj smoke?: No [12]Filmfare.Does Nitish Bharadwaj drink alcohol?: No [13]Filmfare.Nitish Bharadwaj is one of the most recognizable characters on the Indian television where he portrayed Lord Krishna in B. R. Chopras epic television serial Mahabharat in the late 80s.The character of Lord Krishna made him an overnight star and people would touch his feet wherever he went.Nitish Bharadwaj had a middle-class upbringing in Mumbai. His late father, Janardan C. Upadhyay, belonged to a priestly family and was an eminent lawyer in Mumbai. his father was also a close aide of George Fernandes in the labour movement in the 60s and 70s.His upbringing was enriched by the knowledge of scriptures; as his late mother, Sadhana Upadhyay was very close to classical music and Marathi literature. She also had her own library at home, which gave Nitish an opportunity to read lots of books, and before getting the role of Lord Krishna in B. R. Chopras Mahabharat, he had already read a lot of literature on Krishna. His mothers demise had a traumatic effect on Nitish, and in an interview, while talking about his mother, he said, My mother was trained in classical music. She was also a professor of Marathi literature. She had acquired a PhD in Dnyaneshwari (a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita). On her death bed, she said, Ive fulfilled all my duties as a wife, mother and person. Dont waste your time, energy, money on rituals after I am gone..When he was in school, he got the opportunity to visit several film sets; as one of his neighbours was from the FTII who would often take him to Filmistan, Filmalaya, and RK Studio.In an interview, he revealed that during his school days, he saw Meenakshi Seshadris shoot of Painter Babu, and later, when he got the opportunity to work opposite her in the 1989 Bollywood film Nache Nagin Gali Gali, he told Meenakshi about the shoot he had seen, and Meenakshi was shocked on his details about the shoot. [14]Rediff Nitish Bharadwaj with Meenakshi Seshadri in a still from Nache Nagin Gali Gali.Before coming into the field of acting, he was a professional veterinary surgeon and had worked as an assistant veterinarian at a racecourse in Mumbai; however, he left the job considering it a monotonous one. While talking about it, he says, Everyone in my family wanted me to become a doctor. I did not want to become a human doctor so I became a veterinary surgeon because I love horses and tigers..He was inclined towards acting since his college days when he acted and directed many plays. He also trained in a Mumbai-based childrens theatre organisation called Little Theatre at the time. In an interview, while talking about his passion for acting in those days, he said, In the acting sphere, every new play gave me something to do and you find yourself after every new project. I decided one day that this is my passion and want to live this for the rest of my life. An old photo of Nitish Bharadwaj.