Arun Govil reveals Ramanand Sagar initially rejected him for Lord Ram role in Ramayan

Veteran actor Arun Govil, who portrayed Lord Ram in the television show Ramayan, has revealed in an interview that he was initially rejected for the character in the show.

Mumbai (Maharashtra): With Ramanand Sagar's popular Hindi TV show Ramayan all set to return on television from Monday (July 3), veteran actor Arun Govil, who played the character of Lord Ram in the TV show went down memory lane and shared how he became part of it. The actor has revealed that he was not the first choice for the role.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Govil 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", he added, "Working in mythology is not a very standard thing at that time, and I was doing a lot of commercial films." His family and friends also suggested he not be part of such a project. "My friends and family said don't do it is not good for you," he said. Still, Govil was keen on portraying Lord Ram on-screen. Although destiny was not in his favour initially and he was rejected. "He took my audition and in the audition he rejected me," he added.

"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," Govil added. However, after a few days, he was called by the makers for the role, and finally, got the opportunity to be part of the mythological show. Govil said that playing Lord Ram had a deep impact on his mind.

"The atmosphere in our house was definitely religious, we used to do puja daily, in the evening everyone used to do aarti and my mother used to say ask me to read Ramayan and that time we used to read it, but its impact was not so deep as we were young. But when we do something from the heart, it has a deep impact on us. And the same thing happened after playing Lord Ram."

Speaking about how he relates to the character of Lord Ram, Govil said, "I am serious by nature, introverted and calm also. So, have a few traits which are similar. This role changed my life completely and the way this role and show became popular, neither I nor the makers ever thought about it." When asked about playing similar roles, he said, "This role has given me a lot and what I got is more than what I lost."

The show gained a lot of popularity when it was aired again during the pandemic, and it will be rerun on TV, what he thinks about it and he shared with ANI, "Ramayan is an institution that teaches how to live life and if you take what has been said in this in your life, then life will become very happy and peaceful." On the work front, he is doing a stage show, Suno Shri Ram Kahani in which he narrates the story of Ramayan. Apart from it, he will be seen in OMG 2. (With agency inputs)