Gajendra Singh Chauhan known professionally as Gajendra Chauhan, is a former television actor known for his work on Indian television, especially his portrayal of
Yudhishthira
Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...
in the historical television series ''
Mahabharat'' (1988–90). He has also had significant roles in a few
B movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
s, and a larger number of
cameo appearance
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s in other films. In 2015, he was appointed chairman of the
Film and Television Institute of India
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...
(FTII), which sparked controversy and opposition by FTII students, leading to his resignation in October 2017. He was the Vice-Chancellor of
Dada Lakhmi Chand State University of Performing and Visual Arts from 2021 to 2025.
Early life and family
Gajendra was born on 10 October 1956, in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
to a
Rajput
Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...
family. He did a diploma in radiography from
AIIMS New Delhi, before he moved to
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
to pursue a career in acting. There he studied acting in the school run by
Roshan Taneja
Roshan Taneja (1931 - 10 May 2019) was a pioneer in teaching acting in India. He set up the acting department at the Film and Television Institute of India, and founded the Roshan Taneja School of Acting in Mumbai, India. He coached several actor ...
, who had previously taught at FTII.
Chauhan is married to
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
choreographer Habiba Rehman. They have a son, Shamsher Singh Chauhan.
Acting career
Chauhan's acting career spans over 35 years, and by his own count, he has worked in 600 television series and almost 150 movies during that period.
His first break as an actor was in television series ''Paying Guest'' in 1983, and he went on to act in shows such as ''Rajni'', ''Air Hostess'' and ''Adalat''. The first acting part in a film that he did was in ''Main Chup Nahi Rahoongi'' in 1986.
In reviews of his film career, ''
Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' and ''
Firstpost
Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions.
The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...
'' wrote that he had played significant roles only in a few "
C-grade" movies, with most of his other roles being
cameo appearances
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking one ...
, a few of which were in mainstream movie.
Mahabharat
Chauhan was initially offered to play the role of Lord
Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
in the television series, and shot for two episodes of the series in this role.
However filming for the first series was delayed, and Chauhan moved south to take on new work.
Upon his return, Chauhan had put on weight and was considered unsuitable for the role of Krishna. He was later offered the role of
Yudhishthira
Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...
, which went on to being the role he has become better known by.
Administration and politics
Chauhan has also been involved in the administration of ''Cinema and Television Artists Association'' for 20 years, and served as its president for a year.
In 2004 Chauhan entered politics,
and became a member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
(BJP), for which he has worked as the national convener for culture.
Controversies
On 9 June 2015, Chauhan was appointed as the Chairman of the
Film and Television Institute of India
The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...
(FTII).
His appointment proved to be controversial amid allegations by students that it was a blatant attempt to "
saffronize the institute".
A section of left-wing students association, including
All India Students Association (AISA) (the student wing of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation) continue to agitate.
Chauhan requested the students to give him a year to prove himself, and insisted that he would be better than the previous chairpersons.
Among those who have supported Chauhan's appointment as FTII chairman are BJP supporters and politicians including
Mukesh Khanna,
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has Paresh Rawal filmography, appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient of various L ...
,
Hema Malini,
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, and
Paintal.
Many more including FTII alumni and former teachers, actors, film technicians, filmmakers, journalists and political leaders have opposed his appointment, prominent among whom include
Ranbir Kapoor,
Kalki Koechlin,
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a National Film Award, an IIFA Award, and two Filmfare Awards, as well as a nomination for an ...
,
Anupam Kher,
Piyush Mishra,
Anand Patwardhan
Anand Patwardhan (; born 18 February 1950) is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while o ...
,
Kiran Rao,
Jahnu Barua
Jahnu Barua (born 1952) is an Indian film director. He has written and directed a number of Assamese language, Assamese and Hindi films. Some of his notable films are ''Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai'' (1987), ''Firingoti'' (1992), ''Xagoroloi B ...
,
Salman Khan,
Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor (4 September 1952 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. In a career spanning 50 years, he is regarded as one of the most successful and accomplished actors in Hindi cinema. ...
,
Resul Pookutty,
Rajkummar Rao,
Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema.
Early life and education
Palekar was born to Kamlakara and Suhasini Palekar in a Marathi language, Marathi speaking middle-class family ...
,
Soumitra Chatterjee,
Rahul Gandhi,
Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal (; born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, activist and former bureaucrat, who served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He was the chief minister from 2013 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2024. He is also the national conve ...
and
Rana Ayyub.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chauhan, Gajendra
Place of birth missing (living people)
Indian male film actors
Indian male television actors
Living people
Male actors from Delhi
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Maharashtra
1956 births