Sunil Agnihotri

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Sunil Agnihotri
Nationality Indian
Occupation Filmmaker
Known for Chandrakanta

Sunil Agnihotri is a Bollywood film and TV producer and director. He has been described as the "king of television costume dramas".[1]

Work

Agnihotri fist worked as an assistant on the 1985 film Misaal, aiding directors Humayun Mirza and Mahrukh Mirza. His directorial debut came in 1992 when he directed Laat Saab, a picture which starred Ishrat Ali, Asrani and Brij Gopal. Sunil Agnihotri's first work for TV was the successful 1994 series Chandrakanta partly based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's novel Chandrakanta.[2] The series Yug, which ran from 1996 to 1998, tells the story of a family struggling for freedom in the days of the British Raj.[3] His 1997 Betaal Pachisi was a very successful TV fantasy series.[2] However that year, he faced a lawsuit involving the US.[4] King Features Syndicate filed a case arguing that Agnihotri had copied the idea of The Phantom comic strips for the Betaal series.[5] However, the court said that only the unique expression of an idea could be protected, not the idea itself.[6]

Agnihotri's 2002 Aa Gale Lag Jaa series was based on the 1973 film Aa Gale Lag Jaa by Manmohan Desai. The serial was full of songs, which were released on cassette, and was shot like a musical.[7] Other TV series include the mythology-based Jai Ganesha and Black, which had paranormal activities, aliens and extraterrestrials as its theme.[2] In 2003 Sunil Agnihotri caused controversy when he was announced that he was to commence work on a film entitled The Murder of a Missionary, based on Graham Staines, an Australian missionary who was burned to death in his car with his two young sons in January 1999 by a mob of Hindu fanatics. Subash Chouhan of the Bajrang Dal said "We will not allow the producer to shoot ... Such films will encourage the conversion of poor tribals to Christianity".[8]

In 2011 he was producer of a sequel to Chandrakanta, Kahani Chandrakanta Ki, based on the sequel to the novel. He ran into a copyright challenge on the second project from Nirja Guleri, who had produced the first TV series.[citation needed] Kahani Chandrakanta Ki is a lavish costume drama, a historical fantasy.[2]

Filmography

Year Film Role Comments
1985 Misaal Chief assistant director
1988 Ek Naya Rishta Assistant director
1992 Laat Saab Director, Producer Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
1994 Jai Kishen Director Action drama
1994 Chandrakanta Director TV series partly based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's novel Chandrakanta
1996 Yug Director TV Series. Historical drama about the struggle against the British Raj
1997 Daava Director Movie - drama
1997 Betaal Pachisi Director TV series
2002 Aa Gale Lag Jaa Director TV Series
2004 Alibaba Aur 40 Chor Director
2004 Jai Ganesha Director TV series. The story of how Lord Ganesha still plays a part in people's everyday lives
2009 Black Director TV series - paranormal thriller
2011 Kaala Saaya Producer TV series starring film actor Mamik Singh and Aaliya Shah
2011 Kahani Chandrakanta Ki Producer and Director TV series based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's second novel Chandrakanta Santati.

References

  1. ↑ Business India. A.H. Advani. 1999. p. 174. Retrieved 23 April 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 AMIT BACHCHAN (4 June 2011). "Sunil Agnihotri's mega costume drama 'Kahani Chandrakanta Ki'". Page3 Bollywood. Retrieved 2012-04-22. 
  3. ↑ "YUG - A Saga of Bravery and Daredevil". Future Communication. Retrieved 2012-04-22. 
  4. ↑ Business World. Ananda Bazar Patrika Ltd. January 1997. p. 46. Retrieved 23 April 2012. 
  5. ↑ Narayanan, Parameswaran (2007). Law of copyright and industrial designs. Eastern Law House. p. 17. ISBN 978-81-7177-190-5. Retrieved 23 April 2012. 
  6. ↑ Mayur Suresh, Atreyee Majumder, Lawrence Liang. "Encountering the Sustaining Myths of Copyright". Infochangeindia.org. Retrieved 2012-04-23. 
  7. ↑ "Sunil Agnihotri remakes a film into a serial". Mid Day. 2002-08-14. Retrieved 2012-04-22. 
  8. ↑ "Bajrang Dal vows to disrupt films on Staines, hails Dara". Indo-Asian News Service. Bhubaneswar. 31 October 2003. 

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