डोली भूमि गिरत दसकंधर।
छुभित सिंधु सरि दिग्गज भूधर॥
धरनि परेउ द्वौ खंड बढ़ाई।
चापि भालु मर्कट समुदाई॥
(The earth shook as Ravana fell. The sea, rivers; elephants and mountains of all the directions got angry. The torso being spread in two pieces, Ravana fell on earth suppressing the community of bears and apes.)
Watching Lord Rama killing Ravana in this scene, the pandals of Ramlila resonated with the sound of applause and slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The history of staging Ramlila in villages, towns as well as cities is very old in India.
The on-stage episodes of ‘Balkand’, ‘Ravana Vadh’ and ‘Bharata Milap’ may have been watched by audiences several times, but this time they will be able to see the triumph of good over evil on the third screen with satellite channels, YouTube channels and social media.
Yes, The OTT platform that came into discussion due to the rising popularity of web series, will now witness the spirituality of Ramlila. Apart from this, Bollywood’s well-known faces will be seen in this Ramlila.
President Ramnath Kovind, PM Narendra Modi, CM Yogi Adityanath will be invited to Ayodhya’s Ramlila, that is going to be organized by Maa Foundation Ayodhya Ramlila Committee, Delhi.
Special personalities in Ayodhya’s Ramlila:
The Ramlila will be held from October 17-25 at Laxman Fort (Saryu river bank) in Ayodhya. However, this year, the audience is not permitted to attend the event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lok Sabha MP and film actor Manoj Tiwari will be seen in the role of ‘Angad’ whereas actor Ravi Kishan will play ‘Bharata’. Actor Vindu Dara Singh will be seen in the role of ‘Hanuman’, the character his father first played 46 years ago.
Well-known actors Rajesh Puri, Rakesh Bedi and Ritu Shivpuri are also a part of the mega project.
“Hanuman is pleased with our family,” says Dara Singh’s son Vindu
While sharing an account of his childhood Singh said, “When I was 10 years old, I insisted Daddy Ji (Dara Singh) for the first time that I have to see you becoming Hanuman Ji. He said that if you want to watch it then you have to get up early in the morning. I fell asleep early and at 6 am Daddy Ji woke me up and we reached the set of the film with him.”
“3 hours were spent in his makeup and after getting into Hanuman Ji’s getup, he was drinking only coconut water from the straw till evening. When the film released, Hanuman Ji was being discussed everywhere,” he added. The film ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ which came out in 1974 was a super hit.
Vindu Dara Singh has played the character of Hanuman for nearly 15 times in different shows and films. This time he is playing the legendary role in Ramlila of Ayodhya.
Ramlila will be recorded in 14 languages:
President of Ramlila Committee Subhash Malik says that it is there attempt that Lord Ram’s Ramlila reaches every corner of the world and be shown in every language of the world. It is important that people can enjoy this Ramlila in their favourite language by sitting at their homes.
Ramlila will be shown in 14 languages - Hindi, English, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Urdu, Rajasthani, Haryanvi, Bangla, Maithili, Odia.
Ravi Kishan will be seen as ‘Bharata’
Film actor and Lok Sabha MP Ravi Kishan is playing the character of Bharata in Ramlila. Kishan, who has been playing roles in Ramlila for the last 5 years, says that he has a childhood relationship with Ramlila.
“This is the platform where I started acting. As a child, I used to play Sita Maa in Ramlila in my village. For the last few years, I got opportunities to play different roles in Delhi’s Ramlila. This is the first time we have got the opportunity to perform Ramlila at the Ram Janmabhoomi.”
Asked about the character he added, “As far as the preparation for Bharat Ji’s character is concerned, the Parliament is running these days, therefore I am unable to rehearse.”
Artists will reach Ayodhya soon:
This time the Ramlila of Ayodhya is going to be very special. People may be deprived of attending it live due to coronavirus restrictions, but the whole country will witness the event through the internet.
Artists have started rehearsals in Delhi. All the artists of Mumbai will reach Ayodhya soon and then all will start working together. This Ramlila will be truly memorable.
This time I got the opportunity to be included in Ayodhya’s Ramlila: Raza Murad
Raza Murad said that he is becoming a part of Ramlila for the last nine years continuously, but this time it is special because for the first time he has got the opportunity to perform Ramlila in Ayodhya. “Ayodhya and Lord Rama have a deep bond,” he added.
Shahbaz Khan is playing the role of Ravana
Bollywood actor Shahbaz Khan said that he is very happy that this time he has got a chance to participate in Ayodhya’s Ramlila. “My preparation for the role of Ravana has been going on for a long time and I hope that the virtual Ramleela this time will be memorable for everyone.”
