Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi is an Indian film director and script writer, who is best known for directing the 1991 television epic Chanakya in which he also played the title role of the political strategist Chanakya and an inspiration for millions. 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’s novel of the same name. He has also directed the 1996 television series Mrityunjay which is based on the life of Karna, a major character from the epic Mahabharata, and he won a Screen Videocon Best Director award for the same
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 1990-92, 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. Dr. Dwivedi has been conferred with Padma Shri Award in 2022.