Chandraprakash Dwivedi
Chandraprakash Dwivedi is an Indian film director and script writer, who is best known for directing the 1991 television epic Chanakya in which he also played the title role of the political strategist Chanakya and an inspiration for millions. His other major work is the 2003 film Pinjar, a tragic love story set amidst the Hindu-Muslim tensions during the Partition of India, based on Amrita Pritam's novel of the same name. He has also directed the 1996 television series Mrityunjay which is based on the life of Karna, a major character from the epic Mahabharata, and he won a Screen Videocon Best Director award for the same.[1][2]
Dr. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi | |
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Born | Chandra Prakash Dwivedi 1960 (age 59–60) Dodua, sirohi, Rajasthan, India |
Occupation | Actor/director/writer/historian |
Years active | 1988–present |
Spouse(s) | Mandira Dwivedi |
Children |
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Career
Dwivedi is a qualified medical professional who gave up his profession because of a deep interest in Indian literature, and began working in theatre instead.
From 1990-92, he wrote, directed and acted in the TV serial Chanakya, which took India by storm with its crafted dialog, mastery of hindi and lessons on politics and philosophy.
In the late 1990s, he held the position of programming division head at Zee TV.[1] During his stint at Zee, he tried his hand at retelling the Mahabharata (Ek Aur Mahabharat) but had to abort the experiment after 14 episodes due to a poor response from advertisers and viewers.
The rerun of Chanakya too failed to attract advertisers.[3][4][5][6] Dwivedi wrote the dialogues for the 2001 epic Doordarshan television series on Chhatrapati Shivaji.[1][7]
In February 2008, Bobby Bedi announced that he had been planning a new Mahabharata with Dwivedi as director.[8] However, in April, Dwivedi disassociated himself from the project citing pressure brought on as a result of competition from Ekta Kapoor's Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki.[9][10]
In 2008, Dwivedi directed a television serial based on the Upanishads titled Upanishad Ganga.[9] He is presently working on The Legend of Kunal, a film based on the life of Kunal, the son of Emperor Asoka.
In 2009, the South Asian Cinema Foundation honoured Dwivedi with its Cultural Catalyst Award "in recognition of his commitment to exploring India's ancient culture and history in television and popular cinema."[11]
In January 2011, his film Mohalla Assi set around Assi Ghat of Varanasi and based on Dr Kashi Nath Singh's famous novel, went into production with shooting starting in Film City, Mumbai, with Sunny Deol as lead actor.[12][13]
His next film is Zed Plus. Recently he completed the main schedule in Rajasthan. This film is a political satire and comedy, starring Adil Hussain (best known for Life of Pi and English Vinglish) and Mona Singh (of Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi fame). K K Raina, Sanjay Mishra, Kulbhushan Kharbanda are playing other important roles in this film.
He will be directing a movie on Prithviraj Chauhan produced by Yash Raj Films, starring Akshay Kumar.[14]
Filmography
Year | Film/TV Serial | Director | Writer | Actor | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991–92 | Chanakya | Yes | Yes | Yes | 47 Episodes |
1996 | Mrityunjay | Yes | Yes | - | 13 Episodes |
1997 | Ek Aur Mahabharat | Yes | Yes | - | Off air after 14 Episodes |
2003 | Chhatrapati Shivaji | - | Yes | - | Serial on Chhatrapati Shivaji aired on Doordarshan |
2003 | Pinjar | Yes | Yes | - | |
2012 | Upanishad Ganga | Yes | Yes | voice prajapathi | Total 52 Episodes |
2014 | Zed Plus | Yes | Yes | - | |
2018 | Mohalla Assi | Yes | Yes | - | |
2019 | Surajya Sanhita | Yes | Yes | - | Total 13 Episodes |
2020 | Prithviraj | Yes | Yes | - | Movie Release-Diwali 2020 |
References
- "Pinjar – Celebrating humanity". Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- "Director special". www.tribuneindia.com.
- Chanakya TV Series
- http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19980202/03350694.html]
- Earshot: Where have all the ads gone?
- Earshot: Out of sight, out of mind
- "Building programmes". @businessline.
- "Mahabharata for the BPO generation". Archived from the original on 14 June 2008.
- "Trebify | Your Reviews Partner". Trebify | Your Reviews Partner. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011.
- "It is Chanakya Vs Ekta Kapoor". Archived from the original on 15 April 2008.
- "Girish Kasaravalli gets 'Excellence in Cinema' award in UK". Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
- "Sunny is all set to play priest". Times of India. 8 February 2011.
- "Sunny Deol to play a pandit in Mohalla Assi". NDTV Movies. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- "Exclusive! Akshay Kumar to play Prithviraj Chauhan in Aditya Chopra's next". dna. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
External links
- Chandraprakash Dwivedi in Shekhawati for shoot - Times of India
- Chinmaya Mission has selected and appointed Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi for Upanishad Ganga : A series exploring vedic culture
- Chandraprakash Dwivedi on IMDb