Chanakya
Genre	Historical serial drama
Created by	Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi
Written by	Chandraprakash Dwivedi
Country of origin	India
Language(s)	Hindi
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	47
Production
Producer(s)	Shagun Films
Broadcast
Original channel	Doordarshan

Chanakya is a highly acclaimed 47-part television series directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi which was originally telecast on Doordarshan in 1990. It is a fictionalized account of the life and times of the Indian economist, strategist and political theorist Chanakya and is based in the time period 340 B.C - 320 B.C.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Criticism 3 Cast 3.1 Chanakya and his coterie 3.2 The Greeks 3.3 Magadha 3.4 Takshashila 3.5 Kekaya 3.6 Malay 4 Terminology 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot

The series is divided into three major parts -

• The early life of Vishnugupta in the kingdom of Magadha and his expulsion by Dhanananda, King of Magadha.
• The invasion of north-western India by Alexander, his death and the rebellion led by native Indian kingdoms under the leadership of Chandragupta against Alexander's successors in India.
• The attack on and overthrow of the Nanda rule in Magadha and the crowning of Chandragupta as the King of Magadha.

Within this framework, Dwivedi portrays the politics and backstabbing that governed relations between various kings and officials of that time. He also covers the workings of the early Indian republics and the way of life of ordinary Indians during those times.

[edit] Criticism

While the serial has gathered praise for its authenticity, particularly the way it used costumes and similar artistic devices, it has also faced criticism for having a pro-Hindutva subtext, something that Dwivedi strongly denies.^[1]

[edit] Cast

[edit] Chanakya and his coterie

• Chandraprakash Dwivedi as Chanakya a.k.a Vishnugupta a.k.a Kautilya
• Mitesh Safari as Young Chanakya
• Dinesh Shakul as Chandragupta Maurya
• Deepraj Rana as Akshay
• Bakul Thacker as Sharangdev
• Sanjay Mishra as Nipunah
• Navneet Nishan as Shaunotra

[edit] The Greeks

• Shahrukh Irani as Alakshendra a.k.a Alexander the Great
• Nileish Malhotra as Philipus
• Kurush Deboo as Cliturcus/ Kritorus

[edit] Magadha

• Surendra Pal Singh as Katyayan a.k.a "Amatya" Rakshas
• Pramod Moutho as "Maha Mantri" Shaktar
• Irrfan Khan as "Senapati" Bhadrashaal
• Ashok Lokhande as "Ashwadhyaksha"
• Naresh Suri as "Senadhyaksha" Balgupta
• Ishan Trivedi as "Acharya" Ajay
• Renuka Israni as Maitree (Ajay's wife)
• Manoj Joshi as "Mantri" Shriyak
• Chand Dhar as "Acharya" Rudradev
• Neena Gupta as "Raj Nartaki" Shweta

[edit] Takshashila

• Sudhir Dalvi as Ambhiraj, King of Taxila
• Adarsh Gautam as Ambhikumar a.k.a Ambhi, Prince of Taxila

[edit] Kekaya

• Arun Bali as Parvateshwar aka Porus, King of Kekaya
• Ashok Banthia as "Maha Mantri" Indra Dutt
• Malvika Tiwari as Porus' daughter

[edit] Malay

• Prakash Dwivedi as "Laghu" Pauravraj a.k.a Malayraj, King of Malay
• Jaydeep Majethia as Malayketu, son of Pauravraj

[edit] Terminology

• Acharya - Teacher
• Amatya - Councilor
• Ashwadhyaksha - Chief Commander of Cavalry
• Laghu - Small quantity , little
• Maha Mantri - Prime Minister
• Mantri - Minister
• Raj Nartaki - Court Dancer
• Senadhyaksha - Army Chief
• Senapati - Chief of Defense

[edit] References

1. ^ Saffron for breakfast

[edit] External links

• Chanakya at the Internet Movie Database
• Episode List