The story ‘of’ India and its birth has rarely been told on TV: Shyam Benegal

One of the India’s most prolific and awarded filmmakers Shyam Benegal is back on Television, 25 years after his landmark TV Series ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’. Samvidhaan – The Making of the Constitution of India is a 10 part mini-series produced by Rajya Sabha Television and directed by Shyam Benegal. The series goes on air beginning March 2 at 10AM with a repeat telecast at 10PM every Sunday on RajyaSabha TV.
Written by Shama Zaidi and Atul Tiwari from a concept by Rajya Sabha Television, the series stars Sachin Khedekar as Dr B R Ambedkar, Neeraj Kabi as Mahatma Gandhi, Dalip Tahil as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Utkarsh Majumdar as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Rajendra Gupta as Dr Rajendra Prasad, Tom Alter as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Rajeshwari Sachdev as Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Narendra Jha as Qaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Divya Dutta as Shrimati Purnima Benerji and Ila Arun as Hansa Mehta among 150 others in the series.
READ: Making Samvidhaan wasn't easy says Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal says, “The making of India’s Constitution is an incredible story of almost impossible dimensions. It is a story of perennial relevance. I am fortunate to have got the chance to narrate this story for television.”
“The story that is India and the story ‘of’ India and its birth has rarely been told. And the story of the birth of this rich and diverse country begins with the framing of our Constitution. At Rajya Sabha Television our endeavour is to create programs that document contemporary history of Independent India. ‘Samvidhaan’ (the making of the Constitution of India) was a natural progress in this journey,” says Gurdeep Singh Sappal, CEO Rajya Sabha Television, who has produced the series.
After more than a year and a half of extensive research during which the writing also commenced, Samvidhaan went on the floor in August 2013. Over a 1000 people have been directly involved in the making of this serial and has 150 experienced film and television actors.
SAMVIDHAAN -The Making of the Constitution of India’ is a 10 part mini- series. Starts March 2, 2014, Every Sunday at 10am and repeat telecast at 10pm