Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi is an Indian actor, film director and screenwriter, who is best known for directing the 1991 television epic ''

Chanakya Chanakya (Sanskrit: चाणक्य; IAST: ', ; 375–283 BCE) was an ancient Indian polymath who was active as a teacher, author, strategist, philosopher, economist, jurist, and royal advisor. He is traditionally identified as Kauṭil ...

'' in which he also played the title role of the political strategist

and an inspiration for millions. He has also directed the 1996 television series '' Mrityunjay'' which is based on the life of

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

, one of the main characters of the epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

, and he won a ''Screen Videocon Best Director'' award for the same. His other major work is the 2003 film '' Pinjar'', a tragic love story set amidst the Hindu-Muslim tensions during the Partition of India, based on

Amrita Pritam Amrita Pritam (; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. A prominent figure in Punjabi literature, she is the recipient of the 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award. Her body of w ...

's novel of the same name. He also wrote and directed

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

starrer

Samrat Prithviraj ''Samrat Prithviraj'' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language historical action drama film directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi and produced by Yash Raj Films. The film is based on '' Prithviraj Raso'', a Braj language epic poem about the life of Prith ...

(2022).

Career

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 at Zee TV. 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 of ''Chanakya'' too failed to attract advertisers. Dwivedi wrote the dialogues for the 2001 epic Doordarshan television series on

Chhatrapati Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilsh ...

. In February 2008,

Bobby Bedi Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constabl ...

announced that he had been planning a new Mahabharata with Dwivedi as director. However, in April, Dwivedi disassociated himself from the project citing pressure brought on as a result of competition from Ekta Kapoor's

Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki ''Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki'' is an Indian mythological television drama series on 9X based on the Sanskrit epic ''Mahabharata''. It ran from 7 July 2008 to 6 November 2008. The series was produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor und ...

. In 2008, Dr. Dwivedi directed a television serial based on the

Upanishad The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

s titled '' Upanishad Ganga''. He is presently working on '' The Legend of Kunal'', a film based on the life of Kunal, the son of Emperor

Asoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

. In 2009, the South Asian Cinema Foundation honoured Dwivedi with its ''Cultural Catalyst Award'' "in recognition of his commitment to exploring India's ancient culture and history in television and popular cinema." In January 2011, his film '' Mohalla Assi'' set around

Assi Ghat Assi Ghat is the southernmost ghat in Varanasi. To most visitors to Varanasi, it is known for being a place where long-term foreign students, researchers, and tourists live. With hosting Subah-e-Banaras in the morning, assi ghat provides a spe ...

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

and based on Dr Kashi Nath Singh's famous novel, went into production with shooting starting in

Film City Film City may refer to * Film City, Mumbai * Noida Film City * Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad * Prayag Film City The Prayag Film City, also known as the Midnapore Film City or Chandrakona Film City or Bengal film city is an i ...

, Mumbai, with Sunny Deol as lead actor. His next film was '' Zed Plus''. This film was a political satire and comedy, starring

Adil Hussain Adil Hussain () is an Indian actor who has worked in Indian cinema, including art house cinema and mainstream Bollywood, as well as international cinema, in films such as '' The Reluctant Fundamentalist'' and '' Life of Pi'' (both 2012). He re ...

(best known for ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, India who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. He ...

'' and ''

English Vinglish ''English Vinglish'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Gauri Shinde. The film stars Sridevi as Shashi Godbole, a small entrepreneur who makes snacks. Shashi enrolls in an English-speaking course to sto ...

'') and Mona Singh (of Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi fame). K K Raina, Sanjay Mishra, Kulbhushan Kharbanda are playing other important roles in this film. In January 2022, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri award by the Government of India. He has directed a movie on

Prithviraj Chauhan Prithviraja III ( IAST: Pṛthvī-rāja; reign. – 1192 CE), popularly known as Prithviraj Chauhan or Rai Pithora, was a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in presen ...

produced by Yash Raj Films, starring Akshay Kumar in a lead role. The film

was released on June 3, 2022 across India in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Chandraprakash Dwivedi in Shekhawati for shoot - Times of India
* Chinmaya Mission has selected and appointed Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi fo
Upanishad Ganga : A series exploring vedic culture
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwivedi, Chandra Prakash 1960 births Living people People from Sirohi district Film directors from Rajasthan Male actors in Hindi cinema Indian male screenwriters Indian television directors Indian male television actors Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award