Addinath Kothare choked up reading Ramayana’s Bharat Milap

Addinath Kothare, who plays Bharat in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, has revealed that the film’s most delicate emotional beat, the Bharat Milap, caught him off guard long before the cameras rolled. In an exclusive conversation with India Today, the actor said he choked up while reading the scene aloud during his first meeting with the director.

The first reading set the tone

Kothare said Tiwari narrated the character to him and then handed over the lines. His instinct was to keep the reading light and natural, but the words did not cooperate.

“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,” Kothare recalled.

The director’s response was a single reassurance: “Bas yeh hi karna hai” – that is what you need to do. For the actor, it was a small but crucial vote of confidence.

Why the scene matters

In the Ramayana, Bharat Milap is the reunion between Lord Rama and his brother Bharat after fourteen years of exile. It carries devotion, guilt and relief in equal measure, and the performance can easily tip into melodrama. Kothare’s account suggests Tiwari wanted the opposite: an honest, choked reaction rather than a theatrical one.

That distinction is why the scene has connected with audiences. The tearful moment works because it is rooted in a real first response, not just technique.

The bigger picture

• Ramayana: Rise of a Legend released in theatres on November 5.
• Ranbir Kapoor leads as Lord Rama, with Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Yash as Ravana.
• A sequel is scheduled for Diwali 2028, and Sunny Deol will join as Lord Hanuman after a post-credits introduction.

Kothare also described the set as “nothing short of a temple,” a phrase that tells you how the production wants its actors to feel. He also spoke about working with Ranbir Kapoor, who anchors the reunion as Lord Rama, but in Kothare’s telling the Bharat Milap was won in that first meeting: a line reading so honest it left the actor himself a little shaken.

For fans, the bigger takeaway is that the sequel’s emotional groundwork is already visible. If the post-credits introduction of Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman is the hook for the next chapter, Kothare’s Bharat Milap is the proof that the first chapter can do quiet, character-driven emotion.

Source: India Today