Shrimad Ramayan

Shrimad Ramayan (transl. Holy Ramayana) is an Indian Hindi-language mythological television series that premiered on 1 January 2024 on Sony Entertainment Television.^[1][2] Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary under the banner of Swastik Productions, the series is based on the epic Ramayana. It stars Sujay Reu as Rama and Prachi Bansal as Sita.^[3][4]

Plot

The series showcases the life of Rama, the 7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It shows how he dealt with hardships in his life and how his life became an inspiration. It also showcases the whole ordeal and journey he went through to free his beloved wife, Sita (Incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi), from the rakshasa king Ravana, who abducted her.

Baal Kand

King Nemi rules over Ayodhya with his three wives Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. When the asura Sambrasur causes trouble on Earth, the gods request Nemi's assistance in battle against him. He is accompanied by Kaikeyi, who notices mid-battle that one of his chariot wheels is loose, due to the bolt holding the wheel in place having slipped out. She inserts her finger into the hole of the bolt, keeping the wheel stable, despite great pain. The battle ends in a victory for Nemi, who is recognized for his ability to turn his chariot swiftly in all ten directions, and thus given the name Dasharatha. Grateful for Kaikeyi's role in his victory he grants her two boons, but she chooses to save them as she is content in life. Sometime later Dasharatha goes hunting and hears some gurgling nearby. Mistaking the source to be an elephant, he releases his arrow in its direction only for it to hit a young man, Shravana who was fetching water for his blind parents. Wracked with guilt, Dasharatha informs Shravana's parents of his death and confesses to having killed him, albeit unintentionally. Having lost their only support, Shravana's parents die of grief. With his dying breath, Shravana's father curses Dasharath that he too will be separated from his beloved son, which will ultimately be the reason for his death. Dasharath confides in his guru Vashishtha who sees this curse as a boon as it implies that the childless Dasharatha will one day have a son. Dasharatha performs the Putrakàmèsti yagna, from which he receives a divine bowl of payasam that he splits among his wives. Soon Kaushalya gives birth to Rama, Kaikeyi gives birth to Bharata, and Sumitra gives birth to twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna. When the princes get a bit older, Dasharatha sends them off to Guru Vashishtha's ashram for formal education.

When Mithila suffers from a drought for twelve years, its childless king Janak builds a golden plough and unearths a baby girl as he begins to plough. The baby's first cry leads to rainfall. Rishi Yagyavalkya suggests that Janak keep the baby and so he names her Sita. Soon after, Janak and his wife have another daughter they name her as Urmila. Janak's younger brother Kushadhwaja also has two daughters Mandavi and Shutkirti. While playing with her sisters, Sita lifts the Shiv Dhanush, a task that is said to be impossible. Having witnesses this, Janaka decides that he will only give Sita's hand in marriage to the man that can perform the same feat

Few years later

Rama and his brothers grow up and return to Ayodha upon the completion of their education. Guru Vishvamitra takes Ram and Lakshman from Ayodhya to destroy the demoness queen Tataka. Soon Taraka and her son Subahu are killed by Rama and Lakshman, but Rama spares her son Maricha, who vows to give up his evil ways. Guru Vishvamitra tells him that he wants to take both of them to Mithila and seek the blessings of Shiv Dhanush. While travelling to Mithila, he sees Rishi Gautam and Ahilya's ashram and relieves her of her curse that had turned her to stone. Ram comes to Mithila, and they meet for the first time at the Parvati templeSoon after, Sita's Swayamvar is announced.In the Swayamvara, nobody can lift the Shiv Dhanush except Ram. Ram's marriage is fixed with Sita.Later , Lakshman and Urmila have a meeting, in which he thinks she is touching his feet but she clears his doubt that she was just picking up flower that she and Sita like , lakshman says one should not gift flowers to someone from the ground , he later pluck a bouquet of flowers and gives it to her they share a glance . King Dashratha arrives with Vashistha and meets King Janak and his family, Vashistha notice Lakshman and Urmila glancing at each other guessing they love each other later he requests king Janak to marry Urmila to Lakshman, Mandavi to Bharat, and Shatrughan to Shutkirti. Ram asks Lakshman that if he is happy with the marriage Lakshman just smiles and glances at Urmila and shyly replies a yes to ram , Sita asks the same to Urmila and she replies that sita did the puja and she got the reward to . Later all four marriages happen .

Ayodha Kand

Ram, Lakshman, Bharat, and Shatrughna reach Ayodhya with their brides. Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra welcome them. Later, An Aghori predicts Manthara's future and tells her that she will be thrown out of the palace.

Cast

Main

• Sujay Reu as Rama / Lord Vishnu - Vishnu's 7th incarnation; Dasharatha and Kaushalya's son; Bharat, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's elder brother; Sita's husband
  • Tanmay Shah as Young Rama
• Prachi Bansal as Sita / Devi Lakshmi - Lakshmi's incarnation; Janak and Sunaina's elder daughter; Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti's sister; Rama's wife
  • Hansika Jangid as Young Sita
• Basant Bhatt as Lakshmana - Sheshanaga's incarnation; Dasharatha and Sumitra's elder son; Rama, Bharata and Shatrughna's brother; Urmila's husband
  • Subhan Khan as Young Lakshman
• Vaidehi Nair as Urmila - Nagalakshmi's incarnation; Janak and Sunaina's younger daughter; Sita, Mandavi and Shrutakirti's sister; Lakshmana's wife
  • Purvi Mishra as Young Urmila
• Nikitin Dheer as Ravana - King of Lanka; Vishrava and Kaikasi's eldest son; Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's brother; Mandodari's husband; Meghanada and Akshayakumara's father
  • Athar Khan as Young Ravan
• Nirbhay Wadhwa as Hanuman - Lord Vayu's son; Kesari and Anjana's son; Rama's devotee

Recurring

• Nikhilesh Rathore as Bharata - Shankha's incarnation; Dasharatha and Kaikeyi's son; Ram, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's brother; Mandavi's husband
  • Hassan Syed as Young Bharata
• Samarthya Gupta as Shatrughna - Sudarshana's incarnation; Dasharatha and Sumitra's younger son; Rama, Bharata and Lakshmana's brother; Shrutakirti's husband.
  • Shabd Grover as Young Shatrughna
• Aarav Chowdhary as Dasharatha - King of Ayodhya; Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra's husband; Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's father
• Anandi Tripathi as Kaushalya - Dasharatha's first wife; Rama's mother
• Shilpa Saklani as Kaikeyi - Dasharatha's second wife; Bharata's mother
• Bhawna Aneja as Sumitra - Dasharatha's third wife; Lakshmana and Shatrughna's mother
• Vaidehi Nair as Urmila - Nagalakshmi's incarnation; Janak and Sunaina's younger daughter; Sita, Mandavi and Shrutakirti's sister; Lakshmana's wife
  • Purvi Mishra as Young Urmila
• Sheersha Tiwari as Mandavi - Lakshmi shankh's incarnation; Kushadhvaj and Chandrabhaga's elder daughter; Sita, Urmila and Shrutakirti's sister; Bharata's wife
  • Dhwani Buch as Young Mandavi
• Siddhi Sharma as Shrutakirti - Lakshmi chakra's incarnation; Kushadhvaj and Chandrabhaga's younger daughter; Sita, Mandavi and Urmila sister; Shatrughna's wife
  • Dhivija Arora as Young Shrutakirti
• Jiten Lalwani as Janaka - King of Mithila; Kushadhvaja's brother; Sunaina's husband; Sita and Urmila's father
• Via Roy Chaudhary as Sunayana - Janaka's wife; Sita and Urmila's mother
• Rushiraj Pawar as Meghanada - Ravana and Mandodari's son; Akshayakumara's brother; Sulochana's husband
• Gurpreet Bedi / Harleen Rekhi as Mandodari - Mayasura and Hema's daughter; Ravana's wife; Meghanada and Akshayakumara's mother
• Kunal Bakshi as Vibhishana - Vishrava and Kaikasi's third son; Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Shurpanakha's brother
• Sangeeta Odwani as Shurpanakha - Vishrava and Kaikasi's daughter; Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana's sister; Vidyutjiva's widow
• Nishkarsh Dixit as Young Kumbhakarna
• Malhar Pandya as
  • Sugriva - King of Kishkindha; Vali's younger twin brother; Ruma and Tara's husband
  • Vali - King of Kishkindha; Sugriva elder twin's brother; Tara's husband; Angada's father
• Tarun Sharma as
  • Jatayu - Shyeni and Aruna's younger son; Sampati's brother
  • Jambavanta - Rama's devotee; Jambavati's father
• Tarun Khanna as Lord Shiva - Parvati's husband
• Aishwarya Raj Bhakuni as Devi Parvati - Shiva's wife
• Mrinal Shrivastav as Shabari - Rama's devotee; Matanga's student
• Snehal Waghmare as Tara - Vali and Sugriva's wife; Angad's mother
• Meghna Panchal as Ruma - Sugriva and Vali's wife
• Geeta Khanna as Manthara - Kaikeyi's maid
• Surendra Pal as Vasishtha - Family priest of Ayodhya; Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's teacher
• Vishnu Sharma as Vishvamitra - Rama and Lakshmana's teacher
• Dhananjay Singh as Sumantra - Dasharatha's minister
• Yogesh Mahajan as Shatananda - Gautama Maharishi and Ahalya's son; Janaka's advisor
• Manish Khanna as Jabali - Dasharatha's advisor
• Kamaljeet Rana as Khara - Dushana's twin brother; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's step-brother
• Deepak Bhatia as Parashurama - Vishnu's 6th incarnation; Jamadagni and Renuka’s son; Shiva’s disciple
• Garima Jain as Ahalya - Gautama Maharishi's wife; Shatananda's mother
• Arun Singh as Atri - Anasuya's husband; Rama's guide; One of the Saptarshis
• Sampada Vaze as Anasuya - Atri's wife
• Brownie Parashar as Shukracharya - Meghanada's teacher
• Arjun Kumar as Vidyutjiva - Shurpanakha's husband
• Devish Ahuja as Shambuka - Shurpanakha and Vidyutjiva's son
• Neetu Pandey as Kaikasi - Vishrava's wife; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's mother
• Meenakshi Sethi as Gargi - Vachaknu's daughter
• Ansha Sayed as Tataka - Sunda's wife; Marich and Subhau's mother
• Satendra Yadav as Subahu - Sunda and Tataka's son; Marich's brother
• Mohammed Saud Suri as Shravana Kumara - Shantanu and Gyanvanti's son
• Raja Kapse as Kakabhushundi - Rama's devotee
• Shreya Khanna as Saraswati - Goddess of Knowledge
• Meer Ali as Indra - King of Devas
• Gaurav Sharma as Jayanta - Son of Indra
• Bharat Bhatia as Kubera - God of Wealth; Vishrava and Ilavida's son; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's step-brother
• Sharma M Shishir as Shani - God of Karma
• Sandeep Sharma as Narada - Messenger of the Devas
• Sandeep Arora as Nal

Production

Development

Siddharth Kumar Tewary announced Shrimad Ramayan, that is produced under his banner Swastik Productions in August 2023. It is an adaptation of the epic Ramayana, and is based on Valmiki's Ramayana and Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas.^[5][6] In December 2023, Tewary stated that criticism to film Adipurush, was one of the reason to make the show. He added,

Honestly, I like the fact that audiences are sensitive towards the history of our country. It defines our history, culture and even our country. There is a reason why someone would get offended. And it's not my intention to offend anyone. I want them to come together and celebrate it with me. I have a proper research team and everything that's going out, every word about this show is properly vetted. So if anyone raises a question tomorrow, we have an authentic source that we can count on.^[7]

Casting

Sujay Reu and Prachi Bansal were cast as Rama and Sita respectively.^[8][9] The series marks Reu's third and Bansal's second project with the production house.^[10][11] Basant Bhatt and Vaidehi Nair were cast as Lakshmana and Urmila.^[12][13] Nirbhay Wadhwa was cast as Hanuman, in his fourth on-screen portrayal of the character.^[14]

In October 2023, Nikitin Dheer joined the cast as Ravana, marking his television comeback after 5 year.^[15] Aarav Chowdhary was cast as Dashratha.^[16] Nikhilesh Rathore was then cast as Bharata^[17] and Samarthya Gupta was cast as Shatrughna.^[18] Later, Anandi Tripathi was cast as Kaushalya, Bhawna Aneja as Sumitra and Shilpa Saklani as Kaikeyi.^[19][20] Neetu Pandey was cast as Kaikasi.^[21]

In January 2024, Gurpreet Bedi was cast to play Mandodari and Garima Jain was cast to play Ahalya.^[22] Arjun Kumar was cast to play Vidyutjiva.^[23] In February 2024, Rushiraj Pawar was cast to play Meghanada.^[24] In March 2024, Malhar Pandya was cast in the dual role of brothers Sugriva and Vali.^[25]

Design

The series set covering 10 acres of land in Umargam, Valsad, Gujarat, is designed by art director Omung Kumar.^[26] Costume designer of the series is Shibapriya Sen. Sita's wedding look included 15kg lehenga and 15meter long head trail. The hand-made embroidery took 3 days and 18 hours, with the entire lehenga taking 5 days to complete. Sen added,

Designing Sita's wedding look was ethereal, where femininity met divinity. It was a blessing to design the wedding looks for Prabhu Shri Ram and Mata Sita. The costumes and accessories were heavy, but the actors embraced it. We've maintained the sanctity of the occasion through traditional craftsmanship.^[27]

Filming

Shrimad Ramayan is mainly shot in Umargam in Gujarat and has a high production and VFX value.^[28][29]

Release

The teaser of Shrimad Ramayan, was released in August 2023.^[30] The series premiered on 1 January 2024 on Sony Entertainment Television, replacing Kaun Banega Crorepati in its timeslot.^[31] The team of Shrimad Ramayan also visited Ayodhya, before the launch.^[32]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Shrimad Ramayan has been composed by Lalit Sen with lyrics written by Vinod Sharma.^[33] Subhadeep Das Chowdhury, Menuka Poudel, Vaibhav Gupta, Ananya Pal and Utkarsh Wankhede, the contestants of Indian Idol 14 have also sung a version of the title song.^[34]

Reception

Gayatri Nirmal from Pinkvilla stated, "The surprisingly fresh and convincing cast works. The rich storytelling and the VFX (visual effects) literally added life to the characters, and the dialogues, drawn from the original scripture of Valmiki, are both powerful and thought-provoking."^[35]

See also

• List of programs broadcast by Sony Entertainment Television

References

External links

• Shrimad Ramayan on IMDb
• Shrimad Ramayan on Sony LIV

This page was last edited on 11 April 2024, at 20:04