Veteran actor Arun Govil, aka OG Lord Ram of TV, is soon going to contest elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Meerut for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Him contesting the elections from Meerut, where he did his college, is a reflection of the popularity that these veteran actors have gotten thanks to the re-run of their hit show Ramayan, which was once forgotten by TV show lovers due to the rise of Saas Bahu dramas.
The trio of Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia (Sita), and Sunil Lahri (Laxman) was also seen at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir on January 22 earlier this year. It symbolises the fact that Ram Mandir is going to take centre stage during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections starting next month. With just a few days left for the elections, let's go down memory lane to talk about this much-loved mythological show, Ramayan.
Arun Govil as Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan. (Photo credit: Daksh43506 via Wikimedia Commons)
Arun Govil became a household name in the late 1980s and was revered by the nation as the original Ram of the small screen. Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, which ran from 1987–88, was widely watched by young kids of that generation. Roads would get deserted, and there was a curfew-like situation on weekends when Ramayan aired in the mornings. Govil joined the BJP in 2021. Govil's name was in the 5th list of BJP candidates, released on March 24, 2024.
From the elderly to youngsters, all would be glued to their TV screens to catch the latest episodes of the Hindu mythology show Ramayan.
In those days when there was no satellite TV, people would eagerly wait for the telecast of hit shows like Ramayan, Mahabharata, and later even Shaktimaan and Byomkesh Bakshi, to name a few.
In 2020, during the first COVID lockdown, Ramayan was re-telecast on Doordarshan, and it broke all records that year. Everyone, especially the generation of the 1980s, was watching the rerun of the hit mythological show again with their children and parents. They were reliving their childhood memories. The show, according to Doordarshan's data released that year, had a record viewership of 77 million. It apparently set a world record that year for the most-watched TV show globally, and Doordarshan became the most-watched channel that year.
After that, the trio of Ram, Sita, and Laxman, aka Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia, and Sunil Lahri, respectively, returned to the limelight. People wanted to interview them and know how life was post-show in that era where there was no digital presence at all.
Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia, and Sunil Lahri were again called to many TV shows after the re-run of their show, despite the gamut of big actors of this day and age. Young fans also wanted to see and meet them.
Arun Govil revealed that after the show, when they stepped out for promotions, people would touch his feet and walk for miles to catch their glimpse.
In one of the episodes of The Kapil Sharma Show after the super success of Ramayan's re-run, Arun Govil said, "Ramayan's response was good and bad. I received a lot of respect and love, but I got completely removed from commercial films. The makers and producers told me that they saw me in Ram's avatar, and they couldn't see me in any other character. For an actor, this is not good."
Arun Govil also spoke about how, till date, he is only seen as Lord Ram, and once during his vacation to Mauritius, a few people recognised him, and they got out of their cars and performed 'Shashtang Dandavat Pranam in the middle of the road'.
In one of the interviews, Arun Govil also revealed that after the super success of the Ramayana, he never smoked cigarettes as 'fans would get upset with him' because they saw their God, Lord Ram, in him.
He had also revealed in the episode of The Kapil Sharma Show that they were also asked by many to do 'sensual photoshoots' and were ready to pay exorbitant money, but they refused. "While we were shooting Ramayan, a variety of prestigious magazines approached me and the other cast members to do sensual photoshoots for them. They were so desperate that they were willing to pay exorbitant prices for it. But none of us took their offers because we believed that our audiences looked up to and trusted us. We could never risk betraying their trust for money."
Arun Govil and Dipika Chikhlia had then spoken about an incident where around almost 10 lakh people gathered at 10 km wide Varanasi Ghat to catch a glimpse of the three of them in the get up of Ram, Sita and Laxman.
Do catch a glimpse of the Ramayan again to know the amount of love these actors received from their fans.
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