Doordarshan announces reruns of Chandraprakash Dwivedi's Chanakya, Shaktimaan, Shriman Shrimati

Superhero show Shaktimaan and cult classic Chanakya have joined the list of classic reruns on Doordarshan amid the nationwide 21-day lockdown. The Central government has announced the rerun of Shaktimaan, the famous serial featuring Mukesh Khanna, for 1-hour daily on DD National network from 1 April at 1 pm. [caption id=“attachment_8209091” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Shatimaan | Twitter[/caption] In a statement, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said Doordarshan will be retelecasting five shows — Chanakya, Upanishad Ganga, Shaktimaan, Shriman Shrimati and Krishna Kali.   Also joining the course, C_hanakya_, the cult classic of 47 episodes, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, has been planned for daily telecast in the afternoon time band of DD Bharti from the first week of April. The superhero show, Shaktimaan that aired on DD 1 from 1997 to 2005, had a strong fanbase among children. It featured Mukesh Khanna as a photographer named Pandit Gangadhar Vidhyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri, who worked for the newspaper Aaj Ki Aawaz. It was later translated into different languages and aired on different channels. The cult classic series Chanakya is the fictionalised version of the life-history of an economist, strategist and political theorist Chanakya, who was also the royal advisor of King Chandragupta Maurya. Upanishad Ganga, a 52-episode series produced by Chinmaya Mission Trust and directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, is also scheduled for an afternoon slot on DD Bharati first week of April. Shriman Shrimati, a rib-tickling comedy produced by Markand Adhikari, is scheduled for a comeback on DD National from April in the 2 PM slot. Earlier, the national broadcaster Doordarshan decided to re-telecast popular shows of that time Circus starring Shah Rukh Khan, and also Byomkesh Bakshi and mythological series Ramayana. Helmed by Vicky Aziz Mirza and Kundan Shah ‘Circus’ was one of Shah Rukh Khan’s earliest roles. It also starred Pawan Malhotra, Renuka Shahane, and Ashutosh Gowariker, in a significant role. DD National’s social media handle also announced the return of Rajit Kapur-starrer Byomeksh Bakshi. Ramanand Sagar directed Ramayana was a popular serial in the late 1980s. The series featured Arun Govil as Ram, Deepika Chikhalia as Sita and Sunil Lahri as Lakshman. Late Dara Singh portrayed Hanuman and Arvind Trivedi was featured as Ravana. The show was originally telecast from 25 January, 1987, to 31 July, 1988. On Monday, the ministry issued an advisory to all the DTH and Cable operators to show all the DD Channels as well as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Channels as per the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act. Non-carriage of these channels is liable for action under various sections of the act, it said. (With inputs from agencies)