I want to see Nepali artistes in Indian films: Dwivedi

Indian actor, film director and screenwriter Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi has said he wants to see Nepali artistes in Indian films.

Speaking in an interactive session organised by the Embassy of India, the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre here on Sunday, Dwivedi said Nepal and India have many similarities in language and culture and expressed the confidence that Nepali actors can work in Indian cinema.

"There are several actors who have come to India from various countries and become established in the film sector, but the number of Nepali artistes is nominal despite our language and culture sharing many similarities," said Dr Dwivedi, 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.

He also declared on the occasion that the audition for two upcoming films he will be directing will be held in Nepal. According to him, the film script for the two movies is ongoing and Nepali actors would be recruited in the films.

Film director Dwivedi recalled his plan many years back to shoot a film in Nepal with Amitav Bachchan in the lead role.

"I also scouted some locations in Nepal for the film and brought Bachchan in the main role. However, looking at the crowd at the airport, I thought it was not possible to shoot the film. Now, I feel that I was wrong," he added.

The veteran film director recalled coming to Chitwan in 2004 and mentioning about the place in the Indian films.

In the interactive session, he narrated about his experience of more than three decades in film making, acting and screenwriting.

Nepali film actors Rajesh Hamal and Surakshya Panta, directors Kumar Bhaskar, Naresh Poudel and Purnendu Jha, and film artistes Kamalmani Nepal and Bhola Raj Sapkota and screenplay writer Samipyaraj Timilsina were present on the occasion.

Hamal welcomed the Indian film director in Nepal and spoke about the Indian films. He viewed the Nepali and Indian artistes as related by means of films.

He has also directed the 1996 television series Mrityunjay which is based on the life of Karna, one of the main characters of the epic Mahabharata, and he won a Screen Videocon Best Director award for the same. 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 also wrote and directed the Akshay Kumar starrer Samrat Prithviraj in 2022.