Ramayan: Interesting facts about the 1987 mythological series that you must know


The extended lockdown period imposed across the country owing to the Coronavirus scare has put a complete halt to the production process of TV shows, web shows and movies. With no fresh episodes left to telecast on the small screen, channels have resorted to re-running some popular shows back from the 80s and 90s that were considered hits back then. Among others, the iconic mythological shows Ramayan and Mahabharat have also been re-run by Doordarshan much to the excitement of audience.
Today, we will be focusing on certain interesting facts related to Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan that may be unknown to many of you. The 1987 series has made a comeback to the small screen after a long period of 33 years and is interestingly garnering tremendous response from the Indian viewers. The mythological show is based on Valmiki’s Ramayan, as well as, Ramcharitmanas which was composed by Tulsidas. It was first aired on television on January 25, 1987.


1. Ramayan holds the record for being the most watched mythological show in the world with 82 percent viewership. The mythological series was telecast in over 55 countries and had a viewership of 650 million at that time.
2. It was also considered to be one of the most expensive shows made during that time with a budget of a whopping amount of Rs 9 lakh per episode. Doordarshan reportedly made profits of Rs 40 lakh per episode from the show.
3. The first episode of the mythological series was shot for more than 15 days. And the most shocking part is that the crew members used to live in the shoot location for most of the time. The shooting span of the entire series lasted for around 550 days.
4. Ramayan was originally meant to run for only 52 episodes. However, the makers decided to extend the series thrice owing to its popularity and hence the 78 episodes.
5. The original set of Ramayan was built at Umbergaon, a census town situated in the state of Gujarat. However, some of the scenes had been shot in different locations.
6. Arun Govil, who portrayed the role of Lord Ram in the series, was initially rejected when he auditioned for the particular role. He reportedly added a smile on his face during the photoshoot which later helped him bag the role.
7. Dipika Chikhlia also had to undergo four to five screen tests for being roped in to play Sita in the mythological series.
8. Jayshree Gadkar and Bal Dhuri who portrayed the role of Kaushalya and King Dasharath in the series respectively were a married couple in real life too!
9. Arun Govil received a lot of love and respect from the public because of his portrayal of Lord Ram in the mythological series. He reportedly had to quit smoking in the public because of the same.
10. Sanjay Jog, who portrayed the role of Bharat in Ramayan, was initially approached to play Laxman. But because of his inability to commit for the excessive days of shooting, he was roped in to play Bharat.
11. Arvind Trivedi initially auditioned for the role of Kewat but was later cast as Ravana. He was cast for the role after Ramanand Sagar noticed his attitude and body language.
12. Aslam Khan is accredited with playing multiple characters in the series. He has also played numerous pivotal roles in another iconic show Alif Laila. 
13. One of the most iconic scenes from Ramayan – the construction of the Ram Setu was being shot in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. This is because the makers wanted to shoot the same in clear, blue waters which were not available on the shoot location. 
14. Hundreds of people including hermits and saints used to throng the sets of Ramayan everyday during the shooting schedules. And the most interesting fact is that there was pin-drop silence on the part of the crowd when the shoots were going on. 
15. Many of the actors from the mythological series including Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia, Arvind Trivedi and Sunil Lahri have been a part of the 1985 show Vikram Aur Betaal too before being roped in for Ramayan.