As Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan has hit the screens again, Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Information and Broadcasting, tweeted on social media and wrote: “Happy to announce that on public demand, we are starting to retelecast of ‘Ramayana’ from tomorrow, Saturday, March 28 in DD National, One episode in morning 9 am to 10 am, another in the evening 9 pm to 10 pm.”

The people have gone gaga since then! The nostalgia has hit hard, bringing back childhood memories. Three decades ago when Ramnands Sagar serial was aired for the first time, it made the street roads empty. And now in 2020, when the streets are empty again because of the pandemic the world is going through, the people in the lockdown are very excited to watch their favorite mythological shows.

The very original Ramayan show starred Arun Govil as Ram and Deepika Chikhalia as Sita. Whereas the role of Hanuman was played by the legendary Dara Singh and  Arvind Trivedi played the role of  Raavan.  The series ran from 25 January 1987 to 31 July 1988 originally.

Here are some facts that you need to know about the iconic show. They are quirky and interesting-

1. In the first place, the creators of Ramayan were not sure about the show. Thus, they decided to test the audience first. Therefore, they released another show on the same lines with the same cast. The show’s name was Vikram-Betaal which was based on popular folk stories.

2. The show Vikram-Betaal was a hit and gave the green signal to launch these actors as the lead characters of the iconic mythological show Ramayan. It was in 1987 that Ramayan got telecast and it changed the history of Indian television today.

3. There was so much frenzy around the show Ramayan, that the audience considers the serial actors as their real-life Gods. In fact, It was seen that most of the audience used to watch the show with the whole family barefooted as they do while visiting a temple or any other religious place. Not only that, every time the show was aired on the television, female members of the house always had their dupatta over their heads as a sign of respect.

4. The cast was loved by everyone and became the superstar of that era.  Once around one million people gathered at the wide Banaras Ghat to see a glimpse of the artists. The actors were also called by the then Prime Minister of that time MR. Rajiv Gandhi for felicitation. From commoners to renowned Bollywood artists, everyone just folds their hands and bow in respect when they meet the cast.

5.  It was revealed that the Ram of Ramayan was approached many times for sensuous photoshoots. Arun Govil was a national icon of the eighties. He stated in one of the recent interviews that while they were shooting the serial he was asked by many brands for sensual photoshoots and they were so desperate that they were ready to pay a huge amount for it. But it was clear from the cast end that they would never break their audience trust.

6. In an interview, Sagar revealed that the makers of the show also used to bear all the foodstuff and lodging expenses of the crowd at that time.

7. Not only the love and respect but the iconic stars were also paid a hefty amount for their acting. Dara Singh as Hanuman was paid INR 35 lakhs. Sunil Lehri who played the role of Laxman was paid approximately around 18 lakhs. Ravan, the iconic villain and the goddess Sita were paid 20 lakhs. As the main lead, Arun Govil as Ram was paid approximately 40 lakhs INR.