Adipurush controversy: Ramanand Sagar's 'Ramayan' returning to TV on July 3

During the coronavirus-induced lockdown, when film and television shoots were halted, Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan was aired again and received widespread acclaim

Ramanand Sagar's show Ramayan is set to return to television on July 3. The popular series is often regarded as the benchmark for many shows and films based on the mythological epic Ramayan.

On Tuesday, Shemaroo TV announced the rerun on social media and shared a short clip from one of the episodes.

"World famous mythological serial Ramayan is back for all the fans and our audience. Watch it from July 3, 7.30 pm, on your favourite channel Shemaroo TV," it said.

The show, which starred Arun Govil as Lord Ram, debuted on Doordarshan in 1987. During the coronavirus-induced lockdown, when film and television shoots were halted, the series aired again and received widespread acclaim.

Meanwhile, Om Raut’s Adipurush, based on Ramayan, has been receiving a lot of criticism and amid that controversy, Ramanand’s show has also frequently been quoted as being one of the best shows made on the story of Ramayan.

Arun Govil has also been vocal in his criticism of Adipurush.

In an interview with CNN News18, the actor stated that one should not tamper with subjects that are "sensitive" to people.

He further questioned why there was a need to "fool around" with the text of the scripture.

He said, “What I believe is that we should not fool around or we should not take liberties with God. We are very sensitive people, Indians are very sensitive people about their religion, as others are. We Hindus are very sensitive. Other religions are also very sensitive [but] nobody does anything there with other religions. Why? Why us only? Why are they experimenting? What do they want to say?”

The actor added, “Why do they want to fool around? Why do they want to bring new, new things, to try new things? Leave us alone. Why do you want to touch God in this fashion so please don’t do that. And what was the need for it? There are so many other subjects. Do your creative liberty there. What do you want to prove by doing this kind of thing?”

Actor Dipika Chikhlia, who rose to fame as Goddess Sita in Ramayan 36 years ago stated the Ramayana is not for entertainment, and that filmmakers should avoid making new iterations every few years.

“Every time it is going to come back on screen, be it for TV or movie, it is going to have something which is going to hurt people because you are not going to make a replica of the Ramayana that we made," Chikhlia told news agency PTI.