During the pandemic, when the entire entertainment industry was stopped, those two epic creations saved all of us. We are talking about Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan and B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat. These two television series, started on Doordarshan in the late 90s, made people crazy. There were times when there was not a single person on the road because everyone was used to sitting in one house where they could watch Ramayan. It literally controlled the rush on the road. The television series on epic Ramayan by Ramanand Sagar is still remembered by each one of us. The star cast, like Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia, Sunil Lahri, Dara Singh, are still popular as Ram, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman respectively. There was one more prominent character in this epic, Ravan, portrayed by Arvind Trivedi. Ramanand Sagar and his son Prem Sagar perfectly cast this human being to play Ravan. But do you know who Ravan was and why the makers chose Arvind to portray Ravan?
In an exclusive conversation with Lehren Retro, Prem Sagar explained why he cast Arvind Trivedi as a Ravan. Before doing Ramayan, Prem Sagar had a long association with Amit Trivedi and his elder brother. After collaborating with Arvind for 2–3 works, he picked Arvind for ‘Vikram Vetal’ and his one quality impressed the makers. He remembered all the Mantras/ shlokas, and he had knowledge about where and when to use it. Prem Sagar said, “I realised that this man’s indepth is much more than what he plays as an actor.” Prem Sagar revealed that Arvind was a very knowledgeable person. He has enough knowledge about Veda. He sang the stutis of Ravan, he by heart them without a single rehearsal. Arvind Trivedi successfully carried himself as Ravan through his walk and actions.
Though the Ravan had the evil side in Ramayan, he wasn’t Danav (demon). Ravan was a highly intellectual person as he was Hrisi Putra (sage’s son). Watch this entire interesting interview of Prem Sagar where he revealed the special element of his Ramayan series.
Also Read: Throwback To The Most Interesting Love Story Of ‘Bollywood/Hollywood’