Nitish Bharadwaj Stages Play Chakravyuh at Lady Andal Auditorium in Chennai

Actor Dr Nitish Bharadwaj returned to his iconic portrayal of Krishna on stage as the acclaimed theatrical production Chakravyuh was presented at Lady Andal Auditorium in Chennai on Saturday.

More than 35 years after playing Krishna in BR Chopra's 1988 television adaptation of the Mahabharata, Bharadwaj took the stage in the play directed, written, and produced by Atul Satya Kaushik. The production, which depicts the pivotal events of the 13th day of the Kurukshetra war, has been staged across the country for over a decade.

The Chennai staging was organised by Agratrade in association with KRR Air Private Limited. The organising committee for the event included president Ramji Agarwal, secretary Sumit Kedia, chairman Goverdhan Agarwal, and co-chairman Ravi Saraf.

Speaking about the production, Bharadwaj noted that the play underwent around four rounds of rewriting during its development. Initially drafted with Bhishma as the narrator, Bharadwaj suggested shifting the narration to Krishna, believing the narrator needed to be a figure who had risen above their own maze rather than one bound by vows.

The production interprets the chakravyuh story of Abhimanyu metaphorically, framing the seven warriors who killed him as the seven doshas of the human mind: kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (attachment), mada (pride), matsarya (envy), and alasya (ignorance). The play also addresses themes of single motherhood, drawing parallels to Kunti and Uttara from the epic.

Bharadwaj explained that the production continues to evolve, with the creative team currently working on adding a concluding scene addressing the futility of war and drawing connections between the epic's themes and contemporary global conflicts. He highlighted the adaptability of the theatrical medium, noting that live stage performances allow actors to improvise and respond directly to the audience.