Ramayan (1987 TV series)

Ramayan
Ramayan promotional poster
GenreEpic
Created byRamanand Sagar
Based onRamayana and Ramcharit Manas
Written byRamanand Sagar
Directed byRamanand Sagar
Starring
Narrated byAshok Kumar
Ramanand Sagar
Opening themeSita Ram Charit Ati Pawan by Jaidev
ComposerRavindra Jain
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes78
Production
Executive producerSubhash Sagar
ProducersRamanand Sagar
Anand Sagar
Moti Sagar
Production locationsUmbergaon, Valsad, Gujarat
CinematographyAjit Naik
EditorSubhash Sehgal
Camera setupMulti-Camera
Running time35 minutes
Production companySagar Arts
Original release
NetworkDD National
Release25 January 1987 (1987-01-25) –
31 July 1988 (1988-07-31)
Related
Luv Kush
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Ramayan (also known as Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan) is an Indian Hindi-language epic television series based on ancient Indian Sanskrit Epic Ramayana. The show was created, written, and directed by Ramanand Sagar.[1] It originally aired between 1987 and 1988 on DD National and it was narrated by Ashok Kumar and the director Ramanand Sagar. The music was composed by Ravindra Jain. During its run, the show became the most watched television series in the world,[2] garnering a viewership of 82 percent.[3] The repeat telecast was aired on 20 different channels in 17 countries on all the five continents at different times. The success of the series was documented well by the media. According to BBC, the serial has been viewed by over 650 million viewers.[4] Each episode of the series reportedly earned DD National ₹40 lakh.[5]

The show is primarily based on Valmiki's Ramayan and Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas.[6] Other sources used were: Tamil Kamb Ramayan, Marathi Bhavarath Ramayan, Bengali Krutivas Ramayan, Telugu Shri Rangnath Ramayan, Kannada Ramchandra Charit Puranam, Malayalam Adhyatma Ramayan, Urdu Ramayan by Chakbast. Ramayan was the most expensive TV show produced during at the time with a budget of ₹9 lakhs per episode.[7]

When the series was telecast every Sunday morning, BBC recalled, "streets would be deserted, shops would be closed and people would bathe and garland their TV sets before the serial began."[8] The series was re-aired during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown and broke several viewership records globally; the show became the most watched TV show in the world with 77 million viewership on 16 April 2020.[9][10][11][12][13]

  1. ^ "Behind the scenes: Dress designers to actors & deities". The Tribune. 20 April 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  2. ^ "'Ramayan' sets world record, becomes most viewed entertainment programme globally". The Hindu. 2 May 2020.
  3. ^ "The Ramayan: Why Indians are turning to nostalgic TV".
  4. ^ https://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k3/july/july154.html
  5. ^ Bajpai, Shailaja (7 August 1988). "Is There Life After Ramayana?". The Indian Express. p. 17. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan is the most expensive mythological show of its time". India Today. 13 April 2019.
  8. ^ Biswas, Soutik (19 October 2011). "Ramayana: An 'epic' controversy". BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  9. ^ "'Ramayana' beats 'Game of Thrones' to become the world's most watched show". WION. May 2020.
  10. ^ "Blockbuster! Ramayana scripts history with highest viewership on single day - 7.7 crore". businesstoday.in. May 2020.
  11. ^ "Ramayan becomes most viewed program globally, beats GoT by a record margin". Livemint. 2 May 2020.
  12. ^ "'Ramayan' sets world record, becomes most viewed entertainment programme globally". The Hindu. 2 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Aired Again After 33 Years, Ramayan Sets World Record. See Doordarshan's Tweet". NDTV.com. 12 April 2020.