When the government announced 21-day nationwide lockdown it did not leave any stone unturned to entertain the citizens. Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana which aired during the first phase of lockdown on Doordarshan has come to an end. It was started to re-air from March 28 and recently its last episode was aired on Saturday, May 2 where the viewers bid a heavy-hearted goodbye to the show. Ramayana received immense popularity during its re-run starring Arun Govil as Ram, Sunil Lehri as Laxman and Dipika Chikhlia as Sita. The mythological show was number 1 in TRP during the Ram-Ravana battle and Ram returning to Ayodhya episodes, DD announced on its twitter handle as the show became the most-watched show with 7.7 viewers.
However, the show is not over yet! On public demand Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana will air once again but this time on a different channel. The show will re-air on Star Plus from May 4 at 7:30 pm onwards, confirming the same the channel’s official handle posted, “Ayodhya ke Vaasi, Purusho Mein Sarvotam, Sabke Priy Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram ki Kahaani # Ramayan. 4 May Se, Somvaar Se Ravivaar Shaam 7:30 Baje StarPlus par. #RamayanOnStarPlus @arungovil12 @LahriSunil @ChikhliaDipika.
Ramayana previously aired in 1987-88 on DD National and was based on Valmiki’s Ramayan and Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas. It was telecast every Sunday and used to empty out streets. Such was the appeal that a remake by Sagar’s company was aired on NDTV Imagine in 2008 and on Zee TV in the mid-90s and on Star Plus and Star Utsav in the 2000s. The show aired more than three decades ago has come up along with other shows like Mahabharat, Byomkesh Bakshi, and Buniyaad which were re-run from March 28 on public demand.
