Ramayan (2008 TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Ramayan


format = Drama
creator = Sagar Arts
runtime = 30 minutes
starring = Gurmeet Choudhary Debina Bonerjee Ankit Arora Vijay Bhatia Lalit Negi
language = Hindi
country = India
opentheme = Jai Sri Ram By Suresh Wadkar and Kavita Krishnamurthy
network = NDTV Imagine
first_aired = January 21, 2008
last_aired = Present
website = http://www.ndtvimagine.com/ramayan/imagine_about.asp

"Ramayan", based on Valmiki Ramayana and Tulsidas Ramcharitmanas, is an Indian television series produced by Sagar Arts which airs on NDTV Imagine.It is also partly derived from portions of Kamban's "Kambaramayanam and Tulsidas's Adhyatma Ramayana.

It is a remake of the highly successful "Ramayan" that was created, written, and directed by Ramanand Sagar and which aired on Doordarshan from 1987 to 1988.

This new version of Ramayan has good ratings.it is also winning awards and rave reviews.It got the Most Promising New Show of the Year award at theIndiantelevision.com's New Talent Awards held this year.Gurmeet Choudhary who plays the lead role of Ram also won the Most Promising New Talent of Tomorrow award. [http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k8/june/june158.php]

Cast

*Gurmeet Choudhary as Ram
*Debina Banerjee as Sita
*Ankit Arora as Lakshman
*Vikram Sharma as Hanuman
*Akhilendra Mishra as Ravan
*Punkaj Kalraa as Dashrath
*Vijay Bhatia as Bharat
*Lalit Negi as Shatrughna
*Rajni Chandra as Kaushalya
*Jaya Ojha as Mandodari

About the Show

It tells the story of Prince Ram who was the eldest of the four sons of Dashrath, the king of Ayodhya. Ram was to become the king of Ayodhya after his father’s retirement. But his stepmother Kaikeyi whose mind was poisoned by Manthra wanted her son Bharat to become king.

Remembering that Dashrath had once promised to grant her any two boons she desired, she demanded that Ram should be banished to the forest for fourteen years and Bharat should be crowned as the king. The helpless and heartbroken Dashrath had to keep his word. So, he asks Ram to leave for the forest. Ram happily accepts the exile and leaves for the forest along with his dutiful wife, Sita and younger brother Lakshman. When Bharat learns that his mother is responsible for Ram’s exile, he requests Ram to return to Ayodhya. But, when Ram refuses to do so Bharat obtains Ram's sandals and places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king.

Bharat then rules Ayodhya as a representative of Ram for the next fourteen years. Later, Ravan, the evil King of Lanka, abducts Sita. How Ram and Lakshman along with Hanuman and his vanar sena rescues Sita, and how Ram slays Ravan forms the rest of the story.

Main Characters

Ram

Ram is the hero of this epic tale.He is portrayed as an incarnation of the god Vishnu. He is the eldest and the favourite son of the King of Ayodhya, Dashrath.He is referred to as Maryada Purushottama, literally the Perfect Man.

Sita

Sita is the beloved wife of Ram and the daughter of king Janak.She is portrayed as an incarnation of the goddess Laxmi.Sita is the epitome of womanly purity and virtue.She follows her husband into exile.

Hanuman

Hanuman is a powerful vanara belonging to the kingdom of Kishkindha.He worships Ram and helps find Sita by going to the kingdom of Lanka crossing the great ocean.

Lakshmana

Lakshman is the younger brother of Ram, who chose to go into exile with him. He spends his time protecting Sita and Ram.

Ravan

Ravan a demon, is the king of Lanka.He received a boon from Brahma that he cannot be killed by either gods, demons or by spirits, after performing a severe penance for ten thousand years.Vishnu incarnates as the human Ram to defeat him, thus circumventing the boon given by Brahma.

Dasharatha

Dashrath is the king of Ayodhya and the father of Ram. He has three queens, Kousalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi, and three other sons; Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

Bharat

Bharat is the second son of Dashrath.When Ram refuses to return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharat obtains Ram's sandals and places them on the throne as a gesture that Ram is the true king.

Shatrughna

He and Lakshmana were the twin sons of King Dashrath of Ayodhya by his third wife Sumitra.

Mandodari

She is the wife of Ravan. She is very beautiful and elegant.

Urmila

She is the wife of Lakshman and younger sister of Sita.She had to be seperated from Lakshman for 14 years.She is known for her rare beauty and intelligence.

Production

Ravindra Jain, who was the music director for the original series, returns as music director for this series, with Kavita Krishnamurthy and Suresh Wadkar as playback singers. Omang Kumar designs the sets and Nisha Sagar designs the costumes. It is directed by Anand Sagar, son of Ramanand Sagar. The Sagars have worked on the script for about six months. [ [http://www.livemint.com/2008/02/21235715/Family-entertainment.html Family entertainment - livemint ] ] [ [http://filmschannels.blogspot.com/2008/03/ramayanam-with-new-technologies-on-sun.html Films-Channels: Ramayanam With New Technologies On Sun Tv Channel ] ]

The series is shot at "Sagar Film City" in Baroda. [ [http://www.ndtvimagine.com/ramayan/imagine_about_synopsis.asp NDTV Imagine ] ]

Broadcast schedule

Monday to Thursday at 9:30 pm IST on NDTV Imagine. The repeats are shown daily at 12.30 pm

Dubbed versions

NDTV Imagine which originally airs Ramayan has struck a syndication deal with UTV Software Communications which allows it to air Dubbed versions of Ramayan on Sun TV Network.As part of the deal, NDTV Imagine will also get a revenue share from UTV after the earnings reach a particular level.UTV has paid a telecast fee to Sun for acquiring the prime time slot on the network channels. It will have the rights to sell air time.

Malayalam version

The Malayalam version of Ramayan is a daily which airs on Surya TV from Monday to Friday at 7.00 pm.Unni Krishnan sings the songs in the malayalam version along with various other female artists.

Tamil version

Ramayan has been dubbed into Tamil and airs (as Ramayana) on Sun Tv on all Sundays 10.30 AM to 11.30 AM in India and 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM in America.Unni Krishnan, K. S. Chithra and Chinmayee sing the songs in the Tamil version.

Telugu version

The Telugu version airs on Gemini TV.

Kannada version

Udaya TV, Sun Tv's Kannada channel can't air the Kannada version because Karnataka state does not permit dubbed content on television.

References

External links

* [http://www.ndtvimagine.com/ramayan/imagine_about.asp Ramayan Official Site]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN0C9PIlRiE Ramayan Title Track Video]