The two epics have ruled the minds of Indian people for ages. Every child in the household is well versed with all the subplots which go with the story. Rama, the ideal son, husband & the king has all the qualities that you could ever wish for & more. His tale is a story told & retold for ages. But no one had thought of televising it to bring it to the homes of people. The old in the house who couldn’t go the temples had the darshan at home. I remember they folded their hands & started with the new episode. It was Ramanand Sagar who himself was a devotee who made it possible for millions.
Arun Govil as Ram got the lifetime role. He was introduced by Rajashree Pictures just like any other actor. But his smile, walk & slow dialogue delivery became a rage. He was even worshipped as he walked on streets.( Similar experience was quoted by the “Jai Malhar” star Devdutt Nage)
Deepika Chikhalia who was Devi Seeta never looked better. She was the absolute foil for Lord Ram. Both got such unadulterated adoration that lasted for their entire lifetime. What impact they had was felt when another Ramayan or Siya ke ram was telecast, all the actors had to compete with the image created by Arun Govil & Deepika!
Arvind Trivedi who was Ravan, has been reported to say that the love & appreciation he got from this role is unparalleled. He was an established theater person but the fame he received was for this one role was phenomenal. It was very hard for them later to break their image.
Today social isolation has brought these serials back on TV. So messages like’ back to school’ are being circulated. Jokes apart it does bring back those memories. Even though the story was known, the streets would be deserted then & people went visiting before or after the telecast! With recordings & repeat telecast we cannot imagine how it was to wait for a week for that one episode!
Mahabharat followed much later. The actors, makeup, Costumes, direction much better. BR Films known banner brought in this epic. Instead of Ravindra Jain it was Mahendra Kapoor singing for the titles. The titles were in Different Indian Languages.’Katha hai purusharth ki… Sarthi jiske bane Shri krishna Parth ki….’ every household was tuned to the same channel. So whatever the faults in the presentation it united all of us as never before!
Cricket matches were going on. The Australian team was in India. They happened to see one of the episodes. They were fascinated & wanted to know more. They got all the video cassettes available & watched the full drama. That was the impact! The visual media needs to be used well for the reason that it can influence in ways unknown.
Nitish Bharadwaj as Lord Krishna became a phenomenon. His voice & diction was flawless. ‘Vatsa… or ‘ Parth… his dialogues were known to all. He later tried to work in various Marathi films but his image made it very difficult. The others who tried that role had to give a tough fight.
Pravin or the actor who played Bhim was in a scene in ‘Ghayal’ where he helps the heroine, Meenakshi Sheshadri from some goons. As he asks her if she is ok, she visualises him in the Bhim attire. It was so hilarious. ‘ Pranam Mataji’ salutation &she would have fainted on the spot.
‘Tatshri’,’Pitashri’, were a constant just like with “Buniyad” ‘Parjaiji’ or ‘Masterji’ became well known. The salutations speak volumes about the culture & reflect the thought processes. Today the language has plunged to unfathomable depths. Needs excavation & serious repair.
Gajendra Chauhan as Yudhisthira had lot of experience in films & had a presence on screen. Recently he was promoted as the FTI director which came under lot of debate. Arjun also worked in a couple of films later. but nothing worth mentioning. Rupa Ganguly as Draupadi looked beautiful. Recently she was in ‘Burfi’ in mother’s role. She had a couple of scenes. Nakul & Sahadev had very similar faces. They have later worked in films as side characters. One of them was in ‘Dil hai ke manta nahi’ with Pooja Bhat, for whom she runs away from home. On the bus to Bangalore she meets Aamir Khan & changes her mind. So with Aamir in the picture who will remember the other character? He had very few scenes & could not make an impression.
The two serials remain a pleasant memory forever. The re telecast brought in so many good memories back again. Happy viewing!
Asian Entertainment 