Arun Govil says Ramanand Sagar rejected him for Lord Ram’s role in Ramayan; recalls being told show wasn’t good for him

Actor Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in the TV show Ramayan, has revealed that he wasn’t the first choice for the character. In a new interview, Arun said that Ramanand Sagar, who helmed Ramayan, took his audition but rejected him. He was eventually selected for the role. Arun said that playing Lord Ram had a deep impact on his mind. (Also Read | Arun Govil calls Adipurush ‘Hollywood ki cartoon’)

About Ramayan

Ramayan was created, written and directed by Ramanand Sagar. The 78-episode serial was originally telecast on Doordarshan from 1987 to 1988. The show gained a lot of popularity when it was aired again during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ramayan is all set to return on television from Monday, July 3.

What Arun said about his career before featuring in Ramayan

Speaking with news agency ANI, Arun said, “From 1977, I started acting with Rajshri Pictures and with Sagar Saheb, I also worked in Anand Sagar’s directorial Baadal, and I did Vikram Aur Betaal and only then I came to know that Sagar Saheb is making Ramayan, so I approached him, I wanted to play the character of Lord Ram. However, working in mythology is not a very standard thing at that time, and I was doing a lot of commercial films. My friends and family said don’t do it is not good for you.”

Arun talks about Ramayan

Arun said, “He (Ramanand Sagar) took my audition and in the audition he rejected me. His sons Prem Sagar, Moti Sagar, and Anand Sagar asked me to play the character of Bharat and Lakshman, but I said that, ‘I want to play the role of Lord Ram and if I am not suitable for it then it’s fine’, later they selected someone else for the role.” However, after a few days, he was called by the makers of the show for the role, and finally, got the opportunity to be part of the mythological show.

More about Ramayan

Ramayan featured Arun as Lord Ram, Deepika Chikhalia as Sita and Sunil Lahri as Lakshman. Late Dara Singh portrayed Hanuman and Arvind Trivedi was featured as Ravana. The show received massive responses from the audience. Arun gained immense popularity for his portrayal of Lord Ram. Currently, Arun is doing a stage show, Suno Shri Ram Kahani in which he narrates the story of Ramayan. Apart from it, he will also feature in OMG2.