The Making of Chanakya: Episode 4: Recreating Chanakya’s Bharatavarsha

This is the fourth episode of a multipart series of interviews with Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi, the creator of the Chanakya Television Series that aired on Doordarshan between September 1991 – August 1992.

The hallmark of a classic work of art is an innate trait in it to have universal appeal transcending age groups, geographies, languages and cultures. In the annals of creative storytelling through the medium of Television, Chanakya undoubtedly is one such modern classic.

The Chanakaya TV series has become a cultural milestone of sorts in recent Indian history. Today, there are 1000s of clips of selected scenes and dialogues from Chanakya on YouTube and elsewhere on social media that continue to be regularly circulated.

The story of the Chanakya TV series revolves around the character, life, and accomplishments of Chanakya or Kautilya or Vishnugupta, one of the world’s pioneering masters of statecraft, politics, and economics who lived in the 3rd century BCE. Chanakya has elevated a historical subject and a great event in the past into a rich art experience in the finest traditions of Indian aesthetics.

And who better to tell us the full story of how this classic came to be created than its creator himself?

In this episode, Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi shares detailed information about how he and his team went about recreating the Bharatavarsha (or India) of Chanakya’s period. Included in his narration are intricate details of erecting elaborate sets, palaces, halls, costumes, footwear, ornaments and other minute nuances of the period. Dr. Dwivedi also shares his experiences of working with acclaimed technicians like Nitish Roy and Nitin Desai who became legends in their fields.