Manish Wadhwa is an Indian actor and voiceover artist. He is best known for his role as Chanakya in the TV series “Chandragupta Maurya” (2011) aired on Imagine TV. In 2023, he appeared in the Bollywood movie “Gadar 2” starring Sunny Deol.
Wiki/Biography
Manish Wadhwa was born on Sunday, April 23, 1972, in Ambala, Haryana (age 51; as of 2023). He studied at Shishu Niketan School in Ambala, Haryana. In 1983, he moved to Mumbai with his family. He pursued B. Com. At Lions College, Pradraelai Dalmiya, Mumbai. He wanted to be an actor since he was a child. He began to engage in drama creation when he was in college, and won the Best Actor Award in inter-school drama competitions five times. In 1992-1993, he performed in the Hindi play “Sati” at the inter-school drama competition organized by the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) in Mumbai. He also won the Balraj Sahani Trophy and the University Award for Best Actor for his performance in the show.
Childhood photos of Manish Wadhwa with his mother
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′10″
Hair color: Bald
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
There is not much information about his parents. He has a sister and a brother named Rajiv Wadhwa.
Manish Wadhwa and his mother
wife and children
He is married to Priyanka Wadhwa.
Manish Wadhwa and Priyanka Wadhwa
He has a daughter named Vanshika Wadhwa and a son named Ashrit Wadhwa who is a film director.
Manish Wadhwa’s children
Profession
actor
theater artist
Manish Wadhwa started his acting career in 1999 as a theater artiste in commercial theatres. The theater is playing “Maa Retire Hoti Hai” and “Dr.” Mukta”, in which he played the title role alongside Jaya Bachchan. He also co-starred in the comedy “Hum Le Gaye Tum Reh Gaye” with Javed Jaffrey.
Movie
Hindi
Manish Wadhwa made his debut in the film industry with the film Rahul (2001), in which he played the role of Rohit Singh. In 2004, he played the role of Captain Inayat Jani in the film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero. He played the role of Gandharv Sen in the historical drama film Padmaavat (2018). His performance as Major General Hamid Iqbal in the movie Gadar 2 (2023) was greatly appreciated by the audience.
Stills of Manish Wadhwa in the movie “Gadar 2”
He has acted in several films including “Shabri” (2011), “Baa Baaa Black Sheep” (2018), “Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi” (2019) and “Pathaan” (2023). His performance as Major General Hamid Iqbal in the period action film Gadar 2 (2023) earned him high praise and recognition from the film industry.
telugu
Manish Wadhwa made his Telugu debut with the film Shyam Singha Roy (2021) starring Nani and Sai Pallavi. He plays the role of Mahadev Mahant in the film.
Poster of Telugu movie Shyam Singha Roy
television
TV show
Manish Wadhwa made his television debut with the TV series “Amrapali” (2002), in which he played the role of Ajatshatru. In 2005, he played the negative character Kali in the suspense TV series “Kohinoor” aired on Sahara One.
Poster of TV series “Kohinoor”
In 2006, he played the dual role of Vikram Bhargav and Vineet Bhargav in the show “Mano Ya Na Mano” aired on Star One. He explored the role of Nirbhay Choudhary in the TV show “Mitwa – Phool Kamal Ke” (2009) aired on StarPlus. In 2011, he played the role of Chanakya in the historical drama TV series “Chandragupta Maurya”, which later proved to be the breakthrough in his acting career.
Manish Wadhwa (left) plays Chanakya in the TV show “Chandragupta Maurya”
In the same year, he essayed the role of Ravan in the TV series “Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev” aired on Life OK. However, he was later replaced by actor Tarun Khanna.
Manish Wadhwa plays Ravan in Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev
In 2020, Wadhwa reprized the role of Ravan in &TV’s drama series “Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram”. He has appeared in various television shows including ‘Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?’, ‘Ek Baar Phir’ on StarPlus (2013), ‘Mahakumbh- Ek Rahasaya, Ek Kahani’ on Life OK (2014), “Siya Ke Ram” (2015) on StarPlus, “Paramavatar Shri Krishna” (2017) on &TV and “Hero – Gayab Mode On” (2020) are produced by Sony SAB.
TV movie
Apart from TV series, he has also worked in some TV movies such as “Alakh Nanda” directed by Yatindra Rawat and “Asha-The Boat” directed by Ramesh Talwar.
web series
Manish Wadhwa made his OTT debut in 2021 with the historical drama web series ‘Chhatrasal’, which premiered on MX Player. In the web series, he plays the role of Mahamati Shri Prannath, the mentor of Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela.
Stills of Manish Wadhwa in web series ‘Chhatrasal’
voiceover artist
Hollywood
In 2005, Manish Wadhwa voiced Willy Wonka in the Hindi version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the film, the character was originally played by Johnny Depp. In 2008, he voiced Lord Thorpespian in the Hindi version of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
Movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” poster
He voiced the character of Jacob Black (originally played by Taylor Lautner) in the Hindi versions of all sequels to the Twilight Saga. He also voiced the character of Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier in the Hindi version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, originally played by Sebastian Stan.
Movie “Captain America: The First Avenger” poster
He has worked as a dubbing artist for the Hindi versions of several Hollywood films, including Defiance (2006), Predator (2010), Inferno (2016), The Finest Days (2016), Kingsman ”: “The Golden Circle” (2017), “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” (2018) and “Triple Frontier” (2019).
Bollywood
Manish Wadhwa worked as a dubbing artist for the English version of the film Raat Akeli Hai (2020), voicing the voice of Vikram Singh. He voiced the character of Dileep Singh in the English version of the film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020).
Kollywood
In 2021, Manish Wadhwa lent his voice to the role of Theerthamalai (originally played by Baba Bhaskar) in the Hindi version of the Tamil film Jagame Thandhiram.
Poster of the movie “Jagame Thandhiram”
web series
Manish Wadhwa voices Pierce in the Hindi version of the English web series Lucifer Season 3 (2017) and is the voice of Pierce in the Hindi version of Lucifer Season 6 (2021 ) voiced by Vincent Le Mac. He also worked as a voice-over artist for the Hindi version of seasons 1, 2 and 3 of the Spanish web series “Elite”, which premiered on Netflix.
Poster of the web drama “Elite”
In 2021, he worked as a dubbing artist for the Hindi version of the Tamil web series “Navarasa” streaming on Netflix. The same year, he voiced the role of Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier in the Hindi version of the English web series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which aired on Disney+. In 2022, he voiced the character of Corinthian in the Hindi version of the English web series “The Sandman”.
cartoon
In 2010, he lent his voice to the Hindi version of the English animated film Megamind. In 2017, he voiced the character of “Ferdinand” in the Hindi version of the British film “Ferdinand”. In the original film, the character was voiced by famous wrestler John Cina.
Movie “Ferdinand” poster
Awards
- In 2012, he won the Indian Television Award for Best Actor (Jury) for his role as Chanakya in the TV series “Chandragupta Maurya”
- Won the Star Guild Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Chanakya in the TV series “Chandragupta Maurya”
- In 2012, he won the Apsara Television and Film Producers Association Award for Best Actor for his role as Chanakya in the TV series “Chandragupta Maurya”
- Best Negative Actor – Gold Medal Jury 2018 for the role of Kans in the TV series Paramavatar Shri Krishna
- Won the 2019 Indian Television Academy Award for Best Negative Actor for his role as Kans in the TV series “Paramavatar Shri Krishna”
Manish Wadhwa wins ITA award
- RashtraRatna Awards 2023
Manish Wadhwa wins RashtraRatna Award
- Nominated for the Best Villain Actor at the 2014 Indian Television Awards for his performance as Niranjan Agnihotri in the TV series “Iss Pyaar ko kya Naam doon- Ek Baar Phir”
- Nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Indian Television Awards for his role as Shivanand in the TV series “Mahakumbh- Ek Rahasaya, Ek Kahani”
Facts/Trivia
- While studying in college, he participated in a comedy show called “Khatta Meetha”.
- In an interview, he revealed that after playing the role of Chanakya in the TV series “Chandragupta Maurya”, he received a request for him to shave his head. Speaking about this in an interview, he said:
I went bald eleven years ago and people stopped letting me grow my hair ever since! I was offered roles that required me to retain my appearance. I distinctly remember the day I went bald. It was on December 22, 2010, the role of Chanakya in Maurya. “
- He loved singing ghazals and romantic songs.
- He discussed his love for traveling in an interview, saying:
When I have free time, I enjoy traveling with my wife and kids. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education