Popular Hindi television and film actor Nitish Bharadwaj, best known for portraying Lord Krishna on the TV series Mahabharat, has announced his separation from wife Smita Gate, who is an IAS officer. The former couple, who were married for 12 years and are parents to twin daughters, have been staying separate from September 2019. Nitish confirmed the news of filing for divorce in the Family Court in Mumbai in an interview with Bombay Times and spoke about how separation can be painful. 

Speaking to BT, Nitish stated that he had filed for a divorce in the Family Court in September 2019. He said, "I do not want to mention the reasons why we separated. The matter is in court right now. But sometimes divorce can be more painful than death as you live with an amputated core." The actor went on to admit that children get affected the most when a family goes separate ways. He said, "The onus is on the parents to ensure that there’s minimum collateral damage that their children have to go through." Smita currently resides in Indore with their daughters. 

Nitish became a household name across the country after starring as Lord Krishna on the epic television series Mahabharat. The show went on to become one of the most-watched programs on Indian television along with Ramayan. He has also made appearances on a few other shows namely Vishnu Puran and Man Mein Hai Visshwas, while also landing roles in films like the Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit-starrer Sangeet, followed by Prem Shakti alongside Govinda and Karishma Kapoor, including Hrithik Roshan's Mohenjo Daro and late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's Kedarnath. Nitish also forayed into filmmaking and made his directorial debut in 2013 with the Marathi film Pitruroon.