The latest episode of The Kapil Sharma Show features a special moment—the coming together of three actors from the golden age of Doordarshan. Actors Arun Govil, Deepika Chikhalia and Sunil Lahri from the iconic Doordarshan show Ramayan reunited 33 years after the show.
In a promo video shared by the makers the actors, best known for their roles as Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman, are seen answering witty questions from Kapil. The video and photos of the actors have sent internet into a tizzy. In the quick video, the actors can been talking about audience response to the show and their characters. Deepika, who played Sita, says no one would casually greet her, instead people would fall at her feet and say ‘Sita Ma’. When asked if they wouldn’t feel ‘itchy’ wearing all those extravagant costumes, Arun Govil who plated Ram said that after a point of time, he felt ‘itchy’ by the mere sight of the costumes.
The makers also released a picture collage of Arun Govil, Deepika Chikhalia and Sunil Lahri, juxtaposed with a recent picture of the stars from the show. “Nostalgia takes over this Saturday on The Kapil Sharma Show at 9:30 pm,” read the caption. Written, produced and directed by Ramanand Sagar, Ramayan first aired on Doordarshan in 1987.
While all the moments are being talked about, what has brought more serious attention to the episode is Arun Govil’s revelation that the Ramayan cast were offered huge amounts of money for racy photoshoots by magazines and that they rejected them. “While we were shooting for Ramayan, a lot of renowned magazines approached me and the other cast members to do sensuous photoshoots for them. They were so desperate that they were ready to pay hefty amounts of money for it,” IANS quoted Arun Govil as saying.
Govil said that people looked up to them with respect and put their faith in them. So they couldn’t disrespect that and pick up such projects just for money.