''Amrapali'' was an Indian historical drama TV serial, directed by

Ravi Kemmu Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...

in 2002. It was a big-budget (Rs 100 million) story depicting the world of around 600 B.C. The serial was broadcast on the

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

National Network every Sunday at 11am, starting on 30 June 2002. The story's central character was a young woman,

Amrapali Āmrapālī, also known as "Ambapālika", "Ambapali", or "Amra" was a celebrated ''nagarvadhu'' (royal courtesan) of the republic of Vaishali (located in present-day Bihar) in ancient India around 500 BC. Following the Buddha's teachings, she b ...

, who was made the property of the state and elevated to a high position but forced into entertaining men. Kemmu said at a press meeting that very little information is available about Amrapali, and her history is only known through the

Jataka tales The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...

. ''Amrapali'' was originally conceptualised as a serial of 104 parts. It called for a cast of 39 supported by a 500-strong crowd, 25 horses, several elephants, and 25 security personnel to guard a set that cost Rs 40 million.

Personnel

The lead role of Amrapali was played by

Shilpa Shinde Shilpa Shinde (born 28 August 1977) is an Indian television actress. She is known for playing Angoori Tiwari in &TV's ''Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hai!''. In 2017, she participated in '' Bigg Boss 11'' and emerged as the winner by public votes. Early ...

. Her name was recommended by her brother, who was working with

Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited was a film production and distribution company that produced and distributed Hindi films. The chief of the company was Dhillin Mehta. Television Ashtavinayak Cine Vision produced the serial Aamrapali (TV ...

. Shilpa Shinde opted out of the show in October 2002 due to remuneration differences with the producer, after shooting 22 episodes of the serial. She was then replaced by

Pooja Bharti Puja or Pooja may refer to: Religion *Puja (Hinduism), a ritual to host, honor or of devotional worship, or one to celebrate an event * Puja (Buddhism), expressions of honour, worship and devotional attention * Puja, a wooden stick, sometimes lea ...

. The serial was made by DVR Films, presented by L.R. Enterprises, researched by Bodhi Satva, written by B.M. Vyas, and produced by Dhillin Mehta and D. Venkateshwar Rao. Before the serial went on air, the originally nominated director

Vijay Pande Vijay Satyanand Pande is a Trinidadian-American venture capitalist. Pande is the former director of the biophysics program and is best known for orchestrating the distributed computing disease research project known as Folding@home. His research ...

was replaced with Ravi Kemmu.

Cast

/ Pooja Bharti as

. * Seema Kar *

Benjamin Gilani Benjamin Gilani is an Indian film, television and stage actor who works in Hindi cinema. Early life and career Gilani was schooled at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. He is a postgraduate from Delhi University having studied and taught English lit ...

as Mahanaman, Amrapali's foster father *

Narendra Jha Narendra Jha (21 January 1964 14 March 2018) was an Indian actor. He was known for his work in Bollywood productions; his most noted films being ''Haider'', '' Raees'', '' Ghayal Once Again'', '' Hamari Adhuri Kahani'', ''Mohenjodaro'', ''Sho ...

as Harsh (Amrapali's childhood love) * Kanika Shivpuri *

Neelima Azeem Neelima Azeem (born 2 December 1958) is an Indian actress, classical dancer, writer and the mother of actors Shahid Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter. She is known in India for her roles in television shows. Early life Neelima Azeem's father was Anwar ...

Arun Bali Arun Bali (23 December 1942 – 7 October 2022) was an Indian actor who has worked in numerous films and television series. He played the part of King Porus in the 1991 period drama ''Chanakya (TV series), Chanakya'', Kunwar Singh in the Door ...

Pankaj Berry Pankaj Berry (born 8 January 1956) is an Indian film and television actor. He did his post-graduation from Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University, Chandigarh where he acted in many theatre productions of the department. His first majo ...

Bimbisara Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2 ...

Rajesh Puri Rajesh Puri is an Indian television actor. He acted in comedy serials like '' Yeh Duniya Gazab Ki''. Rajesh also acted in a DD1 serial Aamrapali (TV serial) in 2002. He is also identified as Lalit Prasad (a.k.a. Lalloo) of Hum Log, the Televisi ...

* Vishnu Sharma *

Zaheeda Zaheeda Hussain (born 9 October 1944), commonly known by her mononym Zaheeda, is an Indian former actress. Born in Mumbai, she is daughter of Akhtar Hussain, who was film producer and the son of director Jaddanbai. Her aunt was actress Nargis D ...

Manish Wadhwa Manish Wadhwa (born 1972) is an Indian actor and voice actor. He is best known for his roles Chanakya in Chandragupta Maurya (2011 TV series), Chandragupta Maurya, Kamsa, Kans in Paramavatar Shri Krishna and Amal Nanda/Dansh in Hero – Gayab ...

Ajatashatru Ajatasattu (Pāli ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit ) in Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain histories, (c. 492 to 460 BCE or early 5th century BCE) was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East ...

Shahbaaz Khan Shahbaz Khan (real name Haider Khan) is an Indian actor from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He is famous for playing lead roles in television serials such as '' Chandrakanta'', '' The Great Maratha'', '' The Sword of Tipu Sultan'', '' Betaal Pachisi' ...

Plot

''Amrapali'' is set in ancient Vaishali. It tells the story of the sudden transformation of a beautiful, innocent girl, Amrapali, into a mature adult. Abandoned by her parents, Amrapali was found as an infant under a mango tree by Mahanaman. He took her to a village on the outskirts of Vaishali, where she grew up and fell in love with a man named Harsh. Out of curiosity, she visits Vaishali to see the Phalguni Utsav organised every seven years to crown the new ''Janpath Kalyani'' of Vaishali. This title is given every seven years to the most beautiful and talented woman of the kingdom, who may then entertain the men of her choice. Amrapali's visit to the utsav changes the course of her life. In a dramatic turn of events, she gets drunk and joins the group of beauties contending to become Janpath Kalyani. Later she works for the uplift of women and wages a battle to end the practice of Janpath Kalyani. In the process, she loses her beloved as well as her freedom, and embraces

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Awards

The serial ''Amrapali'' won

Indian Television Academy Awards The Indian Television Academy Awards, also known as the ''ITA Awards'', is an annual award ceremony organised by the Indian Television Academy to honour excellence in Hindi-language television. Ceremonies Categories Popular Awards * ITA Aw ...

in 2002 in several categories. *Best Mythological/Historical Serial - D.Venkateshwar Rao /

Dhilin Mehta Dhilin Mehta is an Indian film producer. He served as the chief executive officer of Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. He produced the DD1 serial Aamrapali in 2002. He started his career with small budget films like ''Fun2shh'' and ''Agnipankh'' and ...

*Best Art Direction - Jayant Deshmukh *Best Costumes- Mala Dey *Best Cinematography / Videography - Mahesh Talkad

References

{{reflist

External links