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TV Production : Chunauti ( Youth Drama )

 

A frontrunner amongst Indian serials profiling college life, Chunauti is a hard-hitting trendsetter amongst serials. Chunauti is a window into the psyche of college life in India. It is about a College Principal who takes on the problems that are plaguing today's education system. His sheer grit ensures that he emerges as a winner.

Genre: Socially Relevant Duration: 25 Minutes Episodes: 22 Language: Hindi


  Story Line

Chunauti is a hard - hitting trendsetter amongst serials. Chunauti is a window into the psyche of college life in India. The serial profiles an idealist college principal Mr. Shastri and his travails with the problems that plague students including admissions, donations, ragging, miserable hostel conditions, drug addiction, irresponsible teachers, mass copying, and other malpractices. Intensely strong character graphs and a well-crafted emotional drama covering every aspect of college life in detail, made Chunauti a big hit. During telecast SAMVAAD and Principal Shastri had become household names in India. Chunauti highlighted the higher education system and generated tremendous response from thinkers, planners and common masses. In the serial, Principal Shastri faces adversity. In the end however, with the assistance of many of his students and colleagues he emerges victorious. This serial put SAMVAAD in an exclusive bracket of makers of quality programmes.
 

  Review

Chunauti RAPA (Best Serial) TV & Video World (Certificate of Merit) Chunauti brought many promising stars to the fore. [Illustrated Weekly of India 2/10/88] At last there appears to be a serial that tackles a very relevant issue - the present day education system (Box Office 25th October 1986) Rakesh Chowdhary's Chunauti is one of the better things to have happened to television (Star & Style 10/9/87) The Campus serial which ran away with the honours (Eves weekly 12-18 Sept 87) Here is a special New Year gift lined up for TV Viewers. The Super hit serial Chunauti is staging a comeback in January after getting an extension of 9 episodes from Mandi House (The Afternoon 12 Nov 87) Produced by Rakesh Chowdhary and directed by Sanjiv Bhattacharya, Chunauti challenging the present day education system has proved to be one of the few best TV serials of 1987, topping the popularity charts. (Complete Cinema 14 Nov 1987) College life as it is… Chunauti heading for No 1 Slot. (The Week July 5-11/ 1987) Chunauti has come like a breath of fresh air on the tube, graphically dramatising as it does the ills that have crept into the academic grooves (Education Express - Indian Express 29 Jul 87) Chunauti an excellent daring serial (Hindi Screen 6 Aug 87) The serials which are telecast on television at the moment are unable to create any impact on viewers. However amidst all this dull period Chunauti has created its impression. (The Afternoon 13 Aug 87) Chunauti a critical look at our education System (TV & Video Watch: The Afternoon 14/5/87)
 

  Cast & Credit

Producer Rakesh Chowdhary
Director Sanjiv Bhattacharya
Story Teleplay Ashok Patole
Dialogues Mir Muneer
Camera Bharat Nerkar
Art Director C. S. Bhatti
Cast

Rajiv Verma, Ajit Vachhani, Mohan Bhandari, Bharat Kapoor, Arif Zakaria, Sunil Puri, Channa Ruparel, Suchitra Krishnamurty, Raju Shreshta, Rita Bahaduri, Archana Joglekar and others.