Exclusive: Manoj Joshi keen to bring ‘Chanakya’ play to UK

On 1st February 2014, Bollywood actor Manoj Joshi performed 300th stage show of his much Hindi play, ‘Chanakya’ in Mumbai. ‘Chanakya’ is an historical play based on the life of Vishnugupta, the Machiavellian Brahmin of Takshashilla.

Originally a professor of economics and political science, ‘Chanakya’ is widely credited for having played an important role in the establishment of the Maurya Empire, which was the first empire in archaeologically recorded history to rule most of the Indian subcontinent.

In an exclusive interaction with BizAsia‘s Hemang Palan, Joshi said, “I have contacted few British MPs of Indian origin as am very keen to stage a show of Chanakya in The House of Commons in summer of 2014.”

‘Chanakya’, written by veteran Bollywood writer Mihir Bhuta, was first staged 14 years ago. Staged in Gujarati and Hindi languages, the play has had many shows across the globe with Manoj Joshi portraying the authoritative character of ‘Chanakya’.

Manoj Joshi has acted in over 75 films till date, many of his roles being comedic. Manoj Joshi is well known for his stellar performance in Mani Ratnam movie ‘Guru’ in 2007.

By Hemang Palan