retired from active politics to focus on his film career as a screenwriter & film director. Early life Nitish Bharadwaj was born on 2 June 1963 to Janardan C. Upadhye, a Senior Advocate of Bombay High Court and a veteran labour lawyer. He was also a close aide of George Fernandes in the labour movement in the 60s and 70s. Bharadwaj's mother, Sadhana Upadhye, was the Head of the Marathi Literature department of Wilson College, Mumbai. She was an exponent of the Bhagvad Geeta and Dnyaneshwari, the knowledge of which she imparted to Bharadwaj from childhood. He has one younger brother, Rahul Upadhye Bharadwaj. Personal life In 1991, Bharadwaj married Monisha Patil, daughter of Vimla Patil, then editor of Femina. They have two children, a son and daughter and divorced in 2005. Monisha now lives in Hounslow, Middlesex with her two children, Arrush and Saayli (now called India). Bharadwaj married Smita Gate, an IAS officer (1992 batch) from Madhya Pradesh cadre, in 2009 and they have twin daughters. The couple separated in September 2019, which was confirmed in January 2022. Filmography Acting roles Trishagni (1988) (with Nana Patekar) Njan Gandharvan (1991, Malayalam) Sangeet (1992) (with Madhuri Dixit) Gruhpravesh (1992) (with Nishigandha Wad) Prem Daan (1991) (with Khushboo) Prem Shakti (1994) (with Govinda, Karishma Kapoor Nache Nagin Gali Gali (1991) with Meenakshi Seshadri Khatyal Sasu Nathal Soon (1987) with Varsha Usgaonkar Pasant Aahe Mulgi (1989) with Varsha Usgaonkar Tujhi Majhi Jamli Jodi (1990) with Nivedita Joshi Nashibwaan (1988) with Alka Kubal Pitruroon (2013) (Writer-Director) Mahabharat Aur Barbareek (2013) as Krishna Mohenjo Daro (2016) as Durjan (with Hritik Roshan) Yaksh (awaiting worldwide release) (title role) Kedarnath (2018)as Brijraj Mishra Television Mahabharat (1988) Geeta Rahasya(1999) (producer-Director-Co writer) (with Irrfan Khan) Vishnu Puran (2003) Ramayan (2003) with Smriti Irani as Seeta Man Mein Hai Visshwas (2006-2007, presenter) Ajab Gajab Ghar Jamai (2014, Krishna) Web Series Samantar - in as Sudarshan Chakrapani (MX Player Originals) (2020) Samantar season 2 - in as Sudarshan Chakrapani (MX Player Originals) (2021) Awards Best Screenplay Writer for Marathi feature film, Pitruroon, Sahyadri Film Awards, 2014 Nominated - Best Actor for Pitruroon, Screen Awards, 2014 2nd Best Director for Pitruroon, Maharashtra State Film Awards, 2014 See also List of Indian television actors References External links Indian male television actors Living people Male actors in Hindi cinema India MPs 1996–1997 Indian television presenters Lok Sabha members from Jharkhand Indian actor-politicians 1963