Actor Addinath Kothare on Ramayana's 'Bharat Milap' scene, Ranbir's sweet gesture

Actor Addinath Kothare revealed that he choked up while reading the Bharat Milap scene in Ramayana for the first time. He also spoke about trusting filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari's vision and working with actor Ranbir Kapoor.

In Short

• Addinath Kothare revealed he choked up while reading the Bharat Milap scene
• He praised Nitesh Tiwari's vision and recalled Ranbir Kapoor's support
• The actor described the Ramayana set as a temple

For Addinath Kothare, who plays Bharat in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, the Bharat Milap sequence was his big moment. While the scene left many audience members teary-eyed, the actor revealed that he choked up while reading it for the first time.

In an exclusive conversation with India Today, Addinath opened up about filming the emotionally charged sequence, trusting Nitesh Tiwari's vision and finding his feet on a set that he describes as nothing short of a temple.

For Addinath, the emotional connection with the scene began during his very first meeting with Tiwari. The filmmaker had narrated the character and handed him the lines to read. What followed was rather unexpected: he found himself choking up even as he read them aloud.

"It's amazing how Nitesh sir writes. His writing is brilliant. When I read those lines for the first time in front of Nitesh sir, I remember choking. I said them very casually, but I tried to be as honest as I could, and I choked at that point. Nitesh sir was sitting next to me, and he was like, 'Bas yeh hi karna hai (That's what you need to do).' That gave me a little confidence," he recalled.

Clearly, the scene had already found its emotional footing. But when it came to actually performing it, Addinath knew better than to overthink things. The actor said he often finds himself wondering what more he could do with a scene, but working with a filmmaker like Tiwari meant trusting his vision and following his lead.

"As actors, hum log sochte hai ki aur kya karna chahiye (We wonder what else should be done). Sometimes you just need to go with the flow and trust the director. And when you have someone like Nitesh sir, who is heading and leading from the front, you just need to follow his lead. And that's what I did. I just followed his instructions," he said, adding that he was happy with how the scene turned out.

Meanwhile, addressing conversations around Bharat's equation with Kaikeyi and the absence of a more elaborate confrontation between the two, Addinath said adapting the Ramayana for the big screen was always going to be a challenging exercise. Given the many versions and interpretations of the epic, he believes the film included everything that was necessary for its storytelling.

"Har chapter ke 10 chapters hai, is Ramayan, uske bhi alag 10 versions hai (There are multiple layers to every chapter, and the Ramayana itself has several versions). So, to condense it into a film screenplay, I think what was necessary was there. I think it was a very good screenplay," he said.

While audiences get to see the beautiful brotherhood between Ram and Bharat on screen, Addinath's first few days with his on-screen brothers came with their own share of nervousness. After all, stepping into a project of this scale, with an ensemble cast and a story as familiar as the Ramayana, is no small responsibility.

Recalling his first shoot with Ranbir Kapoor, who plays Ram, Addinath spoke about a scene from the Mithila wedding sequence. The four brothers, Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan, were standing in a line, looking at the brides. It was a relatively simple moment, but Addinath was still figuring out his character's body language and how the brothers would interact. He had a few ideas in mind but wasn't quite sure whether he should go ahead with them. That's when Ranbir stepped in with a suggestion.

"I remember all of us standing, and we just had to look and react to the brides and blush. I was getting tempted to do so many different things at that point. There was a thought: maybe I should interact with Ram. I didn't know whether I should do it or not. Just before the take, Ranbir spoke to me and said, 'Why don't you try doing this? That'll work.' And I was thinking the same thing, so we went with that," he said with a smile.

Working on a film of this magnitude was an experience in itself for Addinath. The actor described Tiwari's set as one of the most disciplined environments he had worked in, with everyone seemingly aware of the responsibility and sanctity attached to the project.

"I think the set of Ramayana was like a temple. It was like stepping into a temple because everyone was in sync, everyone was anchored and synced with the momentum, the sanctity and the sacredness of that entire project. You could feel it, right from the co-actors to the staff to everyone," he said.

Ramayana: Rise of a Legend features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Yash as Ravana. It released in theatres on November 5.

The film's sequel, scheduled to release on Diwali 2028, will also feature Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. Deol's character was introduced in the post-credits scene of the first instalment.

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