Gajendra Chauhan

Gajendra Chauhan
Gajendra Chauhan in 2010
Born	(1956-10-10) 10 October 1956 (age 60) Delhi, India
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Gajendra Singh Chauhan
Occupation	Actor Chairman of FTII
Years active	1984-present

Gajendra Singh Chauhan (born 14 October 1956), known professionally as Gajendra Chauhan, is an Indian television and film actor, best known for his portrayal of Yudhishthira in the historical television series, Mahabharat (1988–90). In 2015, he was appointed as the chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).

Chauhan was born in Delhi, on 14 October 1956. He did a diploma in radiography from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) before he moved to Mumbai to pursue a career in acting. There he studied acting in the school run by Roshan Taneja, who had previously taught at FTII.

Chauhan's acting career spans 34 years, and by his own count, he has worked in 600 television series and almost 150 movies during that period. His first break as an actor was in television series Paying Guest in 1983, and he went on to act in shows such as Rajni, Air Hostess and Adalat. The first acting part in a film that he did was in Main Chup Nahi Rahoongi in 1986. In reviews of his film career, Times of India and Firstpost wrote that he had played significant roles only in a few "C-grade" movies, with most of his other roles being cameo appearances, a few of which were in mainstream movie.

Chauhan was initially offered to play the role of Lord Krishna in the television series, and shot for two episodes of the series in this role. However filming for the first series was delayed, and Chauhan moved south to take on new work. Upon his return, Chauhan had put on weight and was considered unsuitable for the role of Krishna. He was later offered the role of Yudhishthira, which went on to being the role he has become better known by.

Chauhan has also been involved in the administration of Cinema and Television Artists Association for 20 years, and served as its president for a year. In 2004 Chauhan entered politics, and became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for which he has worked as the national convener for culture.