''Chandrakanta'' is an Indian

fantasy television series Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...

partly based on

Devaki Nandan Khatri Devaki Nandan Khatri (18 June 1861– 1 August 1913) was an Indian writer who lived in Varanasi and wrote the historic fiction fantasy novel ''Chandrakanta (novel), Chandrakanta''. Biography He was born on 18 June 1861 in a Punjabi family ...

's 1888 novel of the same name. It was originally telecast on

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television channel ...

between 1994 and 1996 and was created, written, produced, and directed by Nirja Guleri. The serial was pulled off air by Doordarshan in 1996 and the producers had to file a suit in court for reinstatement. Reruns of the show also aired on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...

and

Sony Entertainment Television Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony. SET India's You ...

Cast and characters

Pankaj Dheer Pankaj Dheer is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films and TV series. He is known for his role of Karna in TV series ''Mahabharat and'' other roles in '' Chandrakanta'', ''The Great Maratha'', '' Yug'' and '' Badho Bahu''. He appeared in se ...

as Shivdutt- King of Chunargarh * Shahbaz Khan as Kunwar Virendra Vikram Singh *

Shikha Swaroop Shikha Swaroop (born 23 October 1968) is an Indian actress, and a former Miss India International winner. While still in college, she tied Miss India International in 1988 with Shabnam Patel and continued to wear this crown until 1991 when she ...

as Princess Chandrakanta *

Mukesh Khanna Mukesh Khanna (born 23 June 1958) is an Indian actor, talk show host and producer who works in Hindi language films and television shows. He is best known for his portrayal of Shaktimaan, the superhero character in ''Shaktimaan'' (1997–2005) ...

as Janbaaz and Meghavat * * Javed Khan as Tej Singh * * *

Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...

as Badrinath / Somnath (twin brothers) *

Akhilendra Mishra Akhilendra Mishra is an Indian film and television character actor best known for his role as ''Kroor Singh'' in the 1990s Doordarshan fantasy television series '' Chandrakanta''. His other notable works include the character of ''Mirchi'' Se ...

as Kroor Singh, popularly known as Yakkoo * Kausambi Ganguly as Devsena *

Mamik Singh Harmeet Singh Mamik popularly known as Mamik (born 3 May 1963) is an Indian actor, who works on television and has also worked in a few Bollywood movies. He is best known for his roles in films like ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'' (1992), ''Kya Kehna ...

as Surya / Deva *

Nimai Bali Nimai Bali is an Indian actor who generally plays mythological supporting and villainous roles.''Another Sanju loyalist'' by Chaitanya PadukoneDNA India 16 March 2008. Accessed February 2010.''Hoja Rangeela Re''Times of India 13 March 2009. Acc ...

as Surya (original) * Vijayendra Ghatge as Sumer Singh *

Parikshit Sahni Parikshit Sahni (born 1 January 1944) is an Indian actor who is known for playing the lead in TV series Barrister Vinod, ''Gul Gulshan Gulfaam'' (Doordarshan) and ''Gaatha'' (Star Plus). He has also appeared in three of Rajkumar Hirani's block ...

as Maharaja Surendra Singh (King of Naugarh) *

Durga Jasraj Durga Jasraj (born 12 September 1966) is an Indian original content producer, actor and Hindustani classical singer. She focuses on creating indigenous content in formats for multiple media, viz. Live, Television, Online, Mobile VAS, Radio, CD ...

as Rani Kalavati *

Rajendra Gupta Rajendra Gupta (born 17 October 1947) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor and director who is known for his television roles of Adina Beg Khan Sahib e Azam in 2010 series of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Pandit Jagannath in the 1990s Doorda ...

as Pandit Jagannath / Shani (twin brothers) *

Krutika Desai Khan Kruttika Desai is an Indian film, theatre and television actress. In the 90s, she gained initial fame in the serial BUNIYAD and later for her role of Vishkanya in popular fantasy series ''Chandrakanta (1994 TV series), Chandrakanta'', and late ...

as twin sisters Sabhya and Ramya, Amba (Vishkanya), and Jwala, the dacoit * Sonika Gill as Amrapali, Amba's mother * Anu Dhawan as Tara (Vishkanya) *

Kalpana Iyer Kalpana Iyer (born 26 July 1956) is a former Indian actress, singer, and model, who is best known for her works in Hindi cinema throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She appeared in over 100 films, and is accredited for her performances in many popula ...

as Dum Dumi Maai. Iyer also plays Sultana, an ally of Tara *

Rupal Patel Rupal Patel is an Indian actress best known for portraying Kokila Modi in '' Saath Nibhaana Saathiya'' —one of the longest-running Indian TV soaps—and Meenakshi Rajvansh in '' Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke''. In 2020, she had reprised her rol ...

as Jamuna, who is a cousin sister of Roopmati, a villain *

Vinod Kapoor Vinod Kapoor is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema and TV serials. He played the role of Dushasana in the Indian TV serial ''Mahabharat'' and essayed the role of Vibhishana in the TV serial '' Vishnu Puran'' and ''Ramayan''. Early l ...

as Amarjeet Singh / Barkat Khan * Brownie Parashar as Ajgar * Aasif Sheikh as Naagmani Devata (Snake King) *

Surendra Pal Surendrapal Singh (born 25 September 1953) is an Indian film and television character actor who works in Hindi films and TV series. He is best known for his roles of Dronacharya in ''Mahabharat'', Amatya Rakshas in ''Chanakya'', Tamraj Kilvish ...

as King of Vijaygarh * Pradeep Rawat as Himmat Singh * Arun Mathur as Vaidh Baba, Damini's father *

Deepak Parashar Deepak Parashar (born 2 April 1952) is an Indian actor and former model. He was a contestant on ''Bigg Boss'' in 2006. Early life He was born in Pune, India on 2 April 1952 to Shobha and Vishvanath Parashar. He was married in 1985 to Sarita an ...

as Devdutt, Shivdutt's father *

Sudha Chandran Sudha Chandran (born 27 September 1965) is an Indian Bharatanatyam dancer and actress who appears in Indian television and films. In 1981, she hurt her leg in a road accident near Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu while coming back from Madras with he ...

as Satyavati, Shivdutt's mother * Bhushan Jeevan as Dalpati Devata *

Roopa Ganguly Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress, playback singer and politician. She is best known for her portrayal of Draupadi in B R Chopra's hit television series ''Mahabharat''. Often promoted as the Tollywood's answer to Bollywood's Shabana Azmi, she ...

as Damini, Vishwajeet Singh's mother *

Vaquar Shaikh Vaquar Shaikh (born 9 February) is an Indian television actor. He played Rashid Ahmed Khan in '' Qubool Hai'' and has appeared in serials like '' Justujoo'' and '' Pradhanmantri''. Career Vaquar had also acted in Akbar Khan's '' Taj Mahal: ...

as Vishwajeet Singh, the illegal son of Raja Surendra Singh and Damini. * Brahmachari as Nazim Aiyyar *

Arjun (Firoz Khan) Arjun Firoz Khan is an Indian actor, best known for playing the character of warrior prince Arjuna in B. R. Chopra's epic television series ''Mahabharat''. He has also acted in negative roles in several Hindi language movies and television se ...

as the magician mentor of Vishvajeet Singh *

Syed Badr-ul Hasan Khan Bahadur Syed Badr-ul Hasan Khan Bahadur was an Indian actor and classical dancer who acted in silver screen and television. He was known as Pappu Polister. Biography Khan Bahadur was a descendant of Wajid Ali Shah. He acted in ''The Sword of Tipu Sult ...

Varsha Usgaonkar Varsha may refer to: * Varsha, Rainy season or ritu in Hindu calendar * ''Varsha'' (genus), an insect genus in the tribe Empoascini * ''Varsha'' (2005 film), a 2005 Kannada-language Indian feature film directed by S. Narayan People * Bob Varsh ...

as Roopmati Naagraani. * Ashalata Kashmiri as Shivdutt's Daya Maa

Criticism

Kamlapati Khatri, the grandson of the novel's author, has said that the producer "had not done justice to the soul of Khatri's Chandrakanta". He has also accused the producers of willfully misrepresenting certain concepts from the novel, such as "tilism" (kind of a

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...

) and "ayyari" (

spying Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

), and showing them as "jadu-tona" (

sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...

), as well as criticizing the characters and the sequences in the Chunar fort for being overly exaggerated, and how far into the show Chandrakanta appeared.

References

External links

*
Official Site on Sony TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrakanta (Tv Series) Indian fantasy television series Television shows based on Indian novels 1994 Indian television series debuts 1996 Indian television series endings DD National original programming Television series about snakes Television series about shapeshifting Indian period television series