Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan is one of the most watched television serials in Indian history. When it aired on Doordarshan in the late 1980s, it changed television viewing in India. Here is its story.
The broadcast
Ramayan began on Doordarshan on 25 January 1987 and aired on Sunday mornings until mid 1988. Each episode was about 35 minutes long. There were 78 episodes in the original run.
At that time, Doordarshan was the only TV channel for most Indians. On Sunday mornings, streets were reported to be nearly empty as families gathered around TV sets, and many people treated the broadcast like a religious event.
The cast
- **Arun Govil** as Lord Ram
- **Deepika Chikhlia** as Sita
- **Sunil Lahri** as Lakshman
- **Dara Singh** as Hanuman
- **Arvind Trivedi** as Ravana
Several actors became household names, and many viewers began to identify them with the characters they played.
Making of the serial
Ramanand Sagar, a well known film maker, produced and directed the serial under Sagar Arts. It was based mainly on Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, with elements from other versions. The music was composed by Ravindra Jain, whose songs and chaupais became very popular.
The serial was shot largely at Umbergaon in Gujarat, with sets, costumes and special effects that were ambitious for Indian TV at the time.
Also Read: Doordarshan History: From a 1959 Experiment in Delhi to Ramayan, Colour TV and DD Free Dish | Filmfare Awards History: From 1954 to Today, the Black Lady Trophy and How Winners Are Chosen
Impact
- Ramayan showed the reach of television in India and helped spread TV sets in towns and villages.
- It inspired other mythological serials, including BR Chopra’s Mahabharat, which began on Doordarshan in 1988.
- A follow up, Uttar Ramayan, covered the later part of the story.
The 2020 rerun
During the Covid lockdown in 2020, Doordarshan re telecast Ramayan from March. The rerun drew a very large audience, and Prasar Bharati said it became one of the most watched entertainment programmes globally on a single day in April 2020, according to viewership data it shared.
Legacy
Decades later, Ramayan is still watched on TV and online. Clips and songs are widely shared, and the cast is invited to religious and cultural events.
Bottom line
Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan was more than a TV show. It was a shared national experience that shaped Indian television for decades.
Source / स्रोत: Prasar Bharati, Press Information Bureau
