Dr. Chandra Prakash Dwivedi | |
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| Born | (1960-02-26)26 February 1960 (age 65) Dodua, Sirohi,Rajasthan, India |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1990-present |
| Spouse | Mandira Dwivedi |
| Children | 1 |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2022)[1] |
Chandraprakash Dwivedi (born 26 February 1960) is an Indian actor, film director and screenwriter, who is best known for directing the 1991 television epicChanakya in which he also played the title role of the political strategistChanakya and an inspiration for millions. He has also directed the 1996 television seriesMrityunjay which is based on the life ofKarna, one of the main characters of the epicMahabharata, for which he won aScreen Videocon Best Director award. His other major work is the 2003 filmPinjar, a tragic love story set amidst the Hindu-Muslim tensions during thePartition of India, based onAmrita Pritam's novel of the same name.[2][3] He also wrote and directedAkshay Kumar-starrerSamrat Prithviraj (2022). He was honoured by theGovernment of India with thePadma Shri, thefourth-highest civilian honour of the country, in 2022.[4]
Dr. 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 to 1992, 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 atZee TV.[2] 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 ofChanakya too failed to attract advertisers.[5][6][7][8] Dwivedi wrote the dialogues for the 2001 epic Doordarshan television series onChhatrapati Shivaji.[2][9]
In February 2008,Bobby Bedi announced that he had been planning anew Mahabharata with Dwivedi as director.[10] However, in April, Dwivedi disassociated himself from the project citing pressure brought on as a result of competition fromEkta Kapoor'sKahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki.[11][12]
In 2008, Dr. Dwivedi directed a television serial based on theUpanishads titledUpanishad Ganga.[11] He is said to be working onThe Legend of Kunal, a film based on the life ofKunala, the son of EmperorAsoka. In 2009, the South Asian Cinema Foundation honoured Dwivedi with itsCultural Catalyst Award "in recognition of his commitment to exploring India's ancient culture and history in television and popular cinema."[13]
In January 2011, his filmMohalla Assi, set aroundAssi Ghat ofVaranasi and based onDr Kashi Nath Singh's famous novel, went into production with shooting starting inFilm City, Mumbai, withSunny Deol as lead actor.[14][15]
His next film wasZed Plus. This film was a political satire and comedy, starringAdil Hussain (best known forLife of Pi andEnglish Vinglish) andMona Singh (of Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi fame). K K Raina, Sanjay Mishra, Kulbhushan Kharbanda play other important roles in this film.
In January 2022, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award by the Government of India.[16]
He has directed the filmPrithviraj Chauhan produced by Yash Raj Films, starringAkshay Kumar in the titular lead role.[17] The filmSamrat Prithviraj was released on 3 June 2022 across India in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.[18]
In 2024, he served as chairman of the feature film jury of the Panorama section at the55th International Film Festival of India.[19]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Actor | Creative Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Chanakya | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 47 Episodes |
| 1996 | Mrityunjay | Yes | Yes | No | No | 13 Episodes |
| 1997 | Ek Aur Mahabharat | Yes | Yes | No | No | 14 Episodes |
| 2003 | Pinjar | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2012 | Upanishad Ganga | Yes | Yes | No | No | Voice Role 52 Episodes |
| 2014 | Zed Plus | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2018 | Mohalla Assi | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2019 | Surajya Sanhita | Yes | Yes | No | No | 13 Episodes |
| 2022 | Samrat Prithviraj | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Ram Setu | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| 2023 | OMG 2 | No | No | No | Yes |
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