Chanakya (TV series)
| Chanakya | |
|---|---|
DVD cover of Chanakya with English subtitles
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| Genre | Historical drama |
| Created by | Chandraprakash Dwivedi |
| Written by | Chandraprakash Dwivedi |
| Directed by | Chandraprakash Dwivedi |
| Starring | Chandraprakash Dwivedi Dinesh Shakul Suraj Chaddha Surendra Pal Prakash Dwivedi JD Majethia |
| Narrated by | Salim Arif |
| Opening theme | Asato mā... |
| Composer(s) | Ashit Desai |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language(s) | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 47 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Prakash Dwivedi |
| Location(s) | Film City, Mumbai |
| Cinematography | Rajan Kothari |
| Editor(s) | Mohan Kaul Rajeev Khandelwal |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Shagun Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | DD National |
| Original release | 8 September 1991 – 9 August 1992 |
Chanakya (Devanagari: चाणक्य) is a 47-part epic Indian television historical drama written and directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi that was originally telecast on DD National from 8 September 1991 to 9 August 1992. Produced by Prakash Dwivedi, the series is a fictionalized account of the life and times of 4th century BCE Indian economist, strategist and political theorist Chanakya (also known as Vishnugupta) and is based on events occurring between 340 BCE and 321/20 BCE, starting with Chanakya's boyhood and culminating in the coronation of Chandragupta Maurya. Chandraprakash Dwivedi played the title role of Chanakya.
The series is divided into three major parts:
Within this framework, Dwivedi portrays the politics and backstabbing that governed relations between kings and officials of that time. He covers the workings of the early Indian republics and the way of life of ordinary Indians.
Chanakya is critically acclaimed and has been hailed as a "milestone on Indian television." At the same time, it has been the subject of political controversy. It has been televised in many countries around the world and has won five Uptron Awards. The series was widely praised for its authenticity, casting and grandeur.
Dwivedi spent more than nine years researching Chanakya and read over 180 books on the subject including the Arthashastra. For him, Chanakya was "the first man with a national consciousness." And that is what made him take up the project:
Today the question of national consciousness is agitating the minds of our countrymen. Was it not Chanakya who defined Rashtra and paved the way for the first one?
Chanakya started out as an idea for a film. But Dwivedi abandoned the plan and decided to make it into a television series because it was not possible to meet "telecast deadlines" if it had been shot as a film. Dwivedi didn't conceive of the series as a "purely factual account" of Chanakya's life and times. But he did want "to present a work of fiction based on historical evidence—unlike the serials Ramayan and Mahabharat which presented history with a touch of masala." He didn't want to "[create] false drama just to appease popular sentiments." Episodes 11, 12 and 14 were based on McCrindle's book The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great as described by Arrian, Q. Curtius, Diodoros, Plutarch and Justin, while the final episodes dealing with Chanakya's scheme to win over Dhanananda's minister, Rakshasa, were based on Vishakhadatta's 4th century CE play, Mudrarakshasa.
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