Ramayan

Premise

Adapted and based on the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, the series follows the journey of Ram who goes to an exile of 14 years along with Sita and Lakshman.

Lord Vishnu decides to incarnate on earth as Ram, the son of King Dasharath and Queen Kaushalya of Ayodhya to kill Ravan, the evil king of Lanka and establish dharma whereas Goddess Lakshmi would incarnate as his wife Sita. In Ayodhya, a childless Dashrath conducts a putrakameshthi yagna for children and as a result, his three wives gives birth to 4 sons. Kaushalya to Ram, Kaikeyi to Bharat and Sumitra to Lakshman and Shatrughan. The 4 boys grow up to be excellent warriors under Guru Vashista's training. Shri Ram is an ideal and perfect son and brother and is a role model to his three younger brothers and always respects his parents and their affection towards him.

After the brothers return after completing their education, Rishi Vishvamitra arrives at Ayodhya for help as his yagna is disturbed by some demons and asks Dashrath to send Shree Ram to him to kill those demons. Dashrath reluctantly agrees and Lakshman also accompanies Ram. Shri Ram succeeds in killing Taraka and her son Subahu and also protects the yagnas. Rishi Vishvamitra later teaches him about many things required for future.

Later, he takes the two brothers to Mithila to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva's bow at the swayamvar of Princess Sita. Rishi Vishvamitra tells them about the birth of Sita from earth. On their way Ram frees Ahalya of her curse by her husband Rishi Gautama. They reach Mithila where preparation for the swayamvar was in full swing. Ram and Sita meet at Pushp vatika and fall in love at first sight. Sita prays to Goddess Gauri for Ram to be her husband. Next day, Shri Ram wins the swayamvar by breaking Lord Shiva's bow and marriage is fixed. His family at Ayodhya is also informed of the same and Dashrath, along with Bharat and Shatrughna arrive Mithila and Lakshman's marriage is fixed with Urmila, Sita's younger sister whereas Bharat and Shatrughna are married to Mandavi and Shrutakirti, Sita's cousins. King Janak and his family bid a tearful goodbye to their daughters and here ends the Bala Kanda.

In due time, Bharat and Shatrughna leave for Kekeya to meet their grandfather and meanwhile, Dashrath decides to announce Ram as his heir. This decision is happily accepted by all the family members as well as the citizens. However, Kaikeyi's maid Manthara is not happy with the coronation and manipulates Kaikeyi to make Bharat as king. Kaikeyi asks two boons from Dashrath about which he promised years ago. She asks the throne for Bharat and 14 years exile for Ram much to the latter's shock. However, he is compelled to keep his promise.

Cast

Main

Arun Govil as Ram, Lord Vishnu's 7th incarnation of the Dashavatar; Dasharatha and Kaushalya's son; Sita's husband; Bharat, Lakshman And Shatrughan's elder brother; Lav and Kush's father.

Deepika Chikhalia as Sita, Lakshmi, Goddess Lakshmi's incarnation; Janak and Sunaina's elder adoptive daughter; Bhumi Devi's daughter; Urmila, Mandavi, Shrutkirti 's elder sister; Ram's wife; Lav and Kush's mother.

Sunil Lahri as Lakshman, Sheshnaag's incarnation; Dasharatha And Sumitra's elder twin son; Urmila's husband; Ram And Bharat's younger brother And Shatrughan's elder twin

Arvind Trivedi as Ravana, Vishrava, Vishrava and Kaikesi's eldest son; Kumbhakarna, Vibhishan and Surpanakha's elder brother, Indrajit's father, Mandodari's husband.

Dara Singh as Hanuman, Lord Shiva's incarnation; Lord Rama's devotee, Anjani and Kesari's son, Vayu's son.

Recurring

Sanjay Jog as Bharat, the incarnation of Panchajanya, the conch held by Lord Vishnu'; Dasharatha and Kaikeyi's son; Mandavi's husband; Ram's younger brother, and Lakshman and Shatrughan's elder brother

Sameer Rajda as Shatrughna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu's Sudarshana; Dasharatha and Sumitra's younger twin son; Shrutakirti's husband, and Ram, and Bharat's younger brother, Lakshman's younger twin

Bal Dhuri as Dasharatha, King Aja and Queen Indumati's son; Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra's husband; Ram, Bharat, Laxman and Shatrughan's father, King of Kosala

Jayshree Gadkar as Kausalya, Dasharatha's first wife; Ram's mother, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughna's foster mother

Padma Khanna as Kaikeyi, Dasharatha's second wife; Bharat's mother, Ram, Lakshman and Shatrughan's foster Mother

Rajnibala as Sumitra, Dasharatha's third wife; Lakshman and Shatrughan's mother, Ram and Bharat's foster mother

Anjali Vyas as Urmila, Goddess Naga Lakshmi's incarnation; Janak and Sunaina's younger daughter; Sita and Mandavi's younger and Shrutkirti's elder sister; Lakshmana's wife

Sulakshana Khatri as Mandavi, Goddess Lakshmi's flower avatar; Kushadhwaja and Chandrabhaga's elder daughter; Sita's younger and Urmila & Shrutakirti's elder sister; Bharat's wife

Poonam Shetty as Shrutakirti, Goddess Lakshmi's flower; Kushadhwaja and Chandrabhaga's younger daughter; Sita, Urmila, Mandavi's younger sister; Shatrughan's wife

Lalita Pawar as Manthara, Kaikeyi's evil maid

Vijay Arora as Indrajit, Ravan and Mandodari's first son; Sulochana's husband; slain by Lakshman.

Production

Background

For centuries, the Ramcharitmanas had been performed in northern India through pāṭh (ritualized recitation), kathā (oral exposition), and Ramlila (seasonal dramatic renactments). Religious films had previously enjoyed success in India; in contrast for decades Doordarshan, India's state-owned public television broadcaster, generally aired dull programming meant to serve as a service to the nation rather than personal entertainment. In the 1980s, the advent of commercials (deliberately designed to attract viewer attention) and the commission of serialized dramas attracted greater viewership. Ramanand Sagar had previously produced Vikram Aur Betaal for Doordarshan, a series based on folktales from Vetala Panchavimshati.

Development

Ramayan was regarded as the most expensive TV show produced during the time with a budget ₹9 lakhs per episode.

Writing for the Indian Express upon completion of the airing of the series' final episode, former bureaucrat S. S. Gill wrote that it was during his tenure as the secretary with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in September 1985 that he contacted Ramanand Sagar in association with the project. He added that in a letter to Sagar, he had written about the Ramayana as a subject for the television series was ideal in that it was "a repository of moral and social values" and that its message was "secular and universal". He further wrote that he had noted in the letter that Sagar's "real challenge would lie in seeing the epic "with the eyes of a modern man and relating its message to the spiritual and emotional needs of our age". Gill recalled that he had written a similar letter to B. R. Chopra over the production of the series Mahabharat based on another epic of the same name, and mentioned that both Sagar and he accepted his suggestions and constituted panels of experts and scholars to conceptualize the production.

The series was initially conceptualized to run for 52 episodes of 45 minutes each. But, owing to popular demand it had to be extended thrice, eventually ending after 78 episodes.

Initially, Both Ramayan and Mahabharat was planned to air together, but later it was decided to air Ramayan first which was followed by Mahabharat after its end.

Casting

I remember I had given an audition for Ram and I failed initially. I don’t know what happened. The photoshoot happened with the look and make-up but I wasn’t looking like Lord Ram... Then we thought of adding a smile and then everything got sorted.

Govil expressed his desire to play Rama and appeared for a screen test. Initially, he was considered to be inappropriate for the role. He then appeared for the screen test again wearing a smile on his face and got finalized for the role. Since Govil's collaboration with Debashree Roy in Kanak Mishra's Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981) was adulated, the actress was approached to play Sita but due to her hectic schedule in Bengali cinema, she failed to appear for the screen test.

Several other famous actresses were approached as well but all of them backed off due to the prevalent premonition that playing the role of Lady Sita would blemish their romantic appeal resulting doom to their on-screen career. Deepika Chikhalia was then summoned to appear for the screen test. She had to undergo rigorous screen tests and was finalized then.

Sanjay Jog was originally approached for the role of Lakshmana but he refused since he was unable to give bulk dates. Sagar then urged him to play Bharata since the role would not require bulk dates. The role of Lakshmana then went to Sunil Lahiri.

Arvind Trivedi went to audition for the role of a boatman where Ramanand Sagar chose him as Ravan. However, when Trivedi rejected the offer, Paresh Rawal convinced him for playing the role. Vijay Kavish played three roles in the series which were Shiva, Valmiki and Mayasura.

Broadcast

Original run

In India, the series was originally broadcast on DD National from 25 January 1987 to 31 July 1988. Viewership rose steadily in the first view months, and soon was earning advertising revenues greater than any show had previously done, earning roughly Rs. 2,800,000-3,000,000 a week. It is estimated the maximum viewership reached 80 to 100 million, nearly an eighth of India's population, a large proportion at a time when television access was greatly limited in India. Its massive popularity was termed "Ramayana Fever", with streets being emptied and business coming to a halt every Sunday when an episode premiered at 9:30 AM.

Rereleases

Reruns of the series aired on Star Plus and Star Utsav in 2000s. It was re-telecast again between March and April 2020 during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown in India on DD National and broke all records for viewership globally for any TV show. Hundreds of millions of viewers have watched the series during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown in India.

DD National said on 16 April 2020 the show created a world record: 77 million people watched the show in one day. It was again telecasted on StarPlus from 4 May 2020. The show is dubbed in Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil which aired on Star Suvarna, Star Pravah, Star Jalsha, Star Maa and Star Vijay respectively. BBC recorded that it had a viewership of 82 percent, highest viewership in the world.

Reception and legacy

He added, “Starting at around 50 percent the 80 percent figure was reached within a few months and never went down. The viewership was more than 50 percent even in the predominantly non-Hindi speaking southern Indian States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. The show's popularity spanned across religions and people of the Islam faith watched in high numbers as well. It was common among people threatening to burn down the local electricity board headquarters during a power outage."

The success of the series was documented well by the media. Soutik Biswas of BBC recalled that when the series was telecast every Sunday morning, "streets would be deserted, shops would be closed and people would bathe and garland their TV sets before the serial began."

Writing for the Telegraph, William Dalrymple noted, "In villages across south Asia, hundreds of people would gather around a single set to watch the gods and demons play out their destinies. In the noisiest and most bustling cities, trains, buses and cars came to a sudden halt, and a strange hush fell over the bazaars. In Delhi, government meetings had to be rescheduled after the entire cabinet failed to turn up for an urgent briefing."

Critical response

The series was generally criticised in the English-language press for an exceedingly slow narrative, certain choices regarding costume and set design, and poor special effects. English-language critics frequently viewed Sagar as crudely commercialising the "literary treasure" that was the Ramayana. Lutgendorf notes that such critics were often culturally disconnected from traditional renactments of the Ramayana from which Sagar took inspiration, and who rather were accustomed to the conventions of Western film. Hindi-language critics were less critical regarding the pacing.

Political

Regarding initial apprehensions about the series being aired by a government-owned broadcaster, its hitherto producer Sharad Dutt said that "a lot of people within the channel's office weren't supportive of the idea, to begin with. But it had no motivation with what was going on politically. The Congress was in power and it had no agenda of the sort.". Sharma noted that the political clout the series held could be adjudged by the fact that Sagar and Arun Govil (who played Rama) "were repeatedly courted by both the Congress and the BJP to campaign for them." Arun Govil, Deepika Chikhalia (Sita), and Arvind Trivedi (Ravana) all went on to become members of parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Arvind Rajagopal in his book Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India (2000) wrote that with the series, the government "violated a decades-old taboo on religious partisanship, and Hindu nationalists made the most of the opportunity." It confirmed to the idea of Hindu awakening and the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party capitalizing on this."

Manik Sharma of Hindustan Times voiced similar views in that the series "played in the backdrop of a Hindutva shift in Indian politics, under the aegis of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political outfit, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the media and cultural commentators struggled to consider Sagar's epic one way or the other, there were some who saw it as a catalyst, even if unintended, to the turmoil that the movement resulted in."

In Punjab and Haryana, there were sporiadic instances of Sikh terrorism against audiences of Ramayan.

The series was set to end with the coronation of Ram and thus omit the contents of the Uttarakāṇḍa, which feature Valmiki educating Ram's sons. Sanitation workers, who belonged to traditionally untouchable communities that call themselves Balmiks and claim descent from Valmiki, went on strike to agitate for the extension of the serial. The movement was successful, leading to the production of Luv Kush.

The series was re-telecast from 28 March 2020 with one hour episode during the morning and one hour episode during the night during the lockdown of 21 days due to coronavirus on DD National.

Scholarly

Sagar innovated many story elements in the serial that hitherto had not existed in any Ramayana or had only received cursory treatment. This includes a fleshed out coverage of Ram's childhood and education, new story elements on Kaikeyi and her redemption, and humanized rakshasas who are depicted as "majestic but flawed". Lutgendorf states such innovations were developed in accordance with Sagar's and his modern audience's sensibilities but remained within the limits of traditional themes.

Religious

The serial elicited a strong religious response from its audience in what has been termed "video-latry"; viewers performed puja of their television sets and prostrated before Govil and Chikhlia. English-language critics derided such practices as a backwards "embarrasment", but such practices were rooted in the pre-existing customs of puja worship of modern mechanical devices, sanctification rites surrounding the performance of religious drama, and the traditional identification of actors with their roles. Indian intellectuals regarded the serial as promoting the intellectual passivity of its audience, but according to Lutgendorf the audience actively engaged with the show via religious rites and critical discussion. Indian intellectuals also bemoaned that the Ramayan serial would spell a death knell for folk recensions as the serial would be considered a standard authoritative edition. According to Lutgendorf, such worries may be overstated, and notes the irony in that urban intellectuals were among the least likely to appreciate and patronise folk performances.

Ratings

Ramayan notably broke viewership for any Indian television series during that time. It was telecast in 55 countries and at a total viewership of 650 million and re-telecast (24 March - 18 April 2020) nearly 2500 million viewership alone in 25 days, it became the highest watched Indian television series by a distance, and one of top watched television series in world. It entered in the Limca Book of Records as the most watched historical series. On its first telecast (1987), it had 40 million viewership in India. That brought ₹23 crore revenue for the channel.

The viewership during lockdown garnered record highest ratings for a Hindi GEC (general entertainment channel) show since 2015 making DD National as the most watched Indian channel since its premiere.

Ramayan garnered a total of 170 million viewers in first 4 shows during which DD National became the most watched Indian television channel after many years. The following week it garnered 580 million impressions in morning slot and 835 million impressions in night slot.

During week 14 of 2020, it garnered 61.397 million impressions and the following week it got 67.4 million impressions.

Sequel and remake

A follow-up series Luv Kush based on the last chapter of Ramayana Uttara Kanda, aired in October 1988 on DD National. A remake series Ramayan produced by Sagar Arts aired on NDTV Imagine in 2008.