Adipurush controversy: Even Ramanand Sagar was once dragged to court over Ramayan serial

The controversy regarding Adipurush refuses to die down, as a Nepal court’s decision to lift the ban on Hindi films has led to the Kathmandu mayor calling the Nepalese institutions ‘slaves of India’. Amid such controversy, it is important to remember that even Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan serial – often considered the gold standard in the epic’s on-screen depiction – faced a litany of cases, so much so that the veteran director had to roam the courts for over a decade!

Ramanand Sagar became a household name in the country for his serial ‘Ramayan’, which aired between 1987 and 1988 on Doordarshan. The show was viewed by an estimated 650 million viewers, breaking several records.

Ramayan sequel led to court cases on Ramanand Sagar

After Ramayan finished airing its 78th and final episode, a sequel named ‘Uttar Ramayan’ was directed by Ramanand Sagar. The show, later renamed ‘Luv Kush’, focused on the life of Goddess Sita and Luv-Kush (Rama and Sita’s children), and their life after the events of ‘Ramayan’.

According to Dipika Chikhlia, who played the role of Sita in the serial, ‘Uttar Ramayan’ led to a series of court cases being filed on the director. The reason for this was that the show was primarily based on the versions of the epic written by Valmiki and Tulsidas; several regional stories were overlooked. This hurt the sentiments of many viewers, who filed cases against the Ramanand Sagar.

Director had to go to courts for a decade; sons directed the series

Dipika Chikhlia further revealed that Ramanand Sagar had to go to the courts to attend hearings for a decade, which often left him unable to go to sets and direct the episodes. This left the reins in the hands of his sons, Moti and Anand Sagar, who were tasked with directing the episodes based on the scripts written by their father.

“By the time ‘Uttar Ramayana’ started, there were many cases against Ramanand Sagar ji. He could not come to direct the shooting of most episodes. He used to send scripts of the episodes. He made ‘Ramayana’ in the same way as it was written. He did not include regional stories of Ramayana in it. Therefore, many cases were registered against him. In such a situation, his sons Moti and Anand Sagar directed the show,” Chikhlia said.