Chandrakanta (1994 TV series)
{{short description|1990s Indian Hindi-language fantasy television series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Chandrakantaimg.jpg
| caption = The main cast of Chandrakanta: Shahbaz Khan as Prince Virendra Singh and Shikha Swaroop as Princess Chandrakanta.
| creator =
| developer =
| writer = Devaki Nandan Khatri
Kamleshwar (writer)
Ranbir Pushp
| based_on = {{based on|Chandrakanta|Devaki Nandan Khatri}}
| director = Sunil Agnihotri
| creative_director = Sunil Verma
| starring = See below
| narrated = Harish Bhimani
| theme_music_composer = Usha Khanna
| opentheme = "Chandrakanta" by Sonu Nigam And Vinod Rathod
| country = India
| language = Hindi
| num_seasons = 2
| num_episodes = 133
| executive_producer = Shrey Guleri
Sahil Guleri
| producer = Nirja Guleri
| location = Film City Mumbai
| cinematography = Nadeem Khan
| camera = Multi-camera
| runtime = 52 minutes
| company = M/s Prime Channel
| network = DD National
| first_aired = {{Start date|1994}}
| last_aired =
| story = Nirja Guleri
}}
Chandrakanta is an Indian fantasy television series partly based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's 1888 novel of the same name.{{cite web|url=https://theprint.in/features/chandrakanta-the-show-in-which-irrfan-won-hearts-four-lines-at-a-time/412322/|title=Chandrakanta, the show in which Irrfan won hearts four lines at a time|date=2 May 2020}} It was originally telecast on DD National 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.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Reruns of the show also aired on StarPlus, Sony Entertainment Television.{{cite web |url=http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k4/feb/feb205.htm |title=Sony to unveil summer collection |date=23 February 2004 |website=Indiantelevision.com |access-date=27 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806054315/http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k4/feb/feb205.htm |archive-date=6 August 2019 |url-status=dead}} and NTV(Nepal Television)
Cast and characters
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
- Pankaj Dheer as Shivdutt- King of Chunargarh
- Shahbaz Khan as Kunwar Virendra Vikram Singh
- Shikha Swaroop as Princess Chandrakanta
- Mukesh Khanna as Janbaaz and Meghavat
- Javed Khan as Tej Singh
- Irrfan Khan as Badrinath / Somnath (twin brothers)
- Akhilendra Mishra as Kroor Singh, popularly known as Yakkoo
- Kausambi Ganguly as Devsena
- Mamik Singh as Surya / Deva
- Nimai Bali as Surya (original)
- Vijayendra Ghatge as Sumer Singh
- Parikshit Sahni as Maharaja Surendra Singh (King of Naugarh)
- Durga Jasraj as Rani Kalavati
- Rajendra Gupta as Pandit Jagannath / Shani (twin brothers)
- Krutika Desai Khan 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 as Dum Dumi Maai. Iyer also plays Sultana, an ally of Tara
- Rupal Patel as Jamuna, who is a cousin sister of Roopmati, a villain
- Vinod Kapoor as Amarjeet Singh / Barkat Khan
- Brownie Parashar as Ajgar
- Aasif Sheikh as Naagmani Devata (Snake King)
- Surendra Pal as King of Vijaygarh
- Pradeep Rawat as Himmat Singh
- Arun Mathur as Vaidh Baba, Damini's father
- Deepak Parashar as Devdutt, Shivdutt's father
- Sudha Chandran as Satyavati, Shivdutt's mother
- Bhushan Jeevan as Dalpati Devata
- Roopa Ganguly as Damini, Vishwajeet Singh's mother
- Vaquar Shaikh as Vishwajeet Singh, the illegal son of Raja Surendra Singh and Damini.
- Brahmachari as Nazim Aiyyar
- Arjun (Firoz Khan) as the magician mentor of Vishvajeet Singh
- Syed Badr-ul Hasan Khan Bahadur
- Varsha Usgaonkar as Roopmati Naagraani.
- Ashalata Kashmiri as Shivdutt's Daya Maa
{{div col end}}
- Nadeem Shaikh as child artist who is cousin brother of Badrinath/Somnath (irrfan khan)
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) and "ayyari" (spying), and showing them as "jadu-tona" (sorcery), 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.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Dont-follow-Neerja-Guleris-tele-serial/articleshow/10805867.cms|title=Don't follow Neerja Guleri's tele-serial | Lucknow News – Times of India|website=The Times of India}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0389594|Chandrakanta}}
- [http://www.setasia.tv/shows/shows_inside.php?id=30 Official Site on Sony TV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616074206/http://www.setasia.tv/shows/shows_inside.php?id=30 |date=16 June 2004 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrakanta (Tv Series)}}
Category:Indian fantasy television series
Category:Television shows based on Indian novels
Category:Television shows shot in Madh Fort
Category:1994 Indian television series debuts
Category:1996 Indian television series endings
Category:DD National original programming
Category:Television series about snakes