Fans of television from the 80s are more than aware of actor Arun Govil, who played TV's Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s epochal Ramayana. Audiences got a piece of good news recently when public broadcaster Doordarshan gave everyone a chance to reminisce and dive into nostalgia by retelecasting of old favourites, including this mythological saga. Now, Arun, who feels proud of continued identity with the character of Lord Rama spoke about Ramayana's learnings recently amid the coronavirus crisis.
He said, "The fact that it is coming in its entirety again is making us feel wonderful. It will make viewers feel happy. People have a lot of time at hand right now, and they can use it fruitfully to watch Ramayan, which can give them new learning."
Arun further added that Lord Rama is deemed as 'Maryada Purushottam', and the takeaway for viewers here would be the importance of being righteous. "At this time, it is very important for us to abide by the rules. Our Prime Minister used two very important words — sanyam (patience) and sankalp (resolution) — which come under maryada.... So, don’t go out unnecessarily, follow the lockdown. We should spend our time with our families and keep the house clean," he said.
For the uninformed, a few weeks back, the lead cast of Ramayan, Arun, Deepika Chikhalia (Sita) and Sunil Lahiri (Lakshman), reunited after over three decades for an appearance on a popular TV show. In hindsight, Arun said that the reunion turned out to be "like a curtain-raiser unknowingly" for the return of Ramayan.
