As the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya draws near, cinemas anticipate a subdued turnout on January 22. To counter this, some movie chains are considering a unique solution. A source from a multiplex chain under conditions of anonymity was quoted in a report by Bollywood Hungama, ‘We plan to screen episodes of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan throughout the day on January 24’. ‘It’s not official yet, so please don’t quote me. But unofficially, it’s confirmed.’
Moti Sagar, reflecting on the enduring popularity of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, remarked on the profound impact it had. ‘Wherever my father went, people touched his feet, treating him as someone who had brought God into their lives,” he said. “Back then, religious devotion was not a compulsion but a voluntary and instinctive impulse. The success of Ramayan came from a place of complete sincerity and faith in the source material, connecting with the audience.’
Moti Sagar believes recreating the same Ramayan in today’s era would be challenging. ‘We made it without any pressure and faced zero interference from Doordarshan. Attempts to replicate it with other channels later did not succeed due to excessive interference. Something like Ramayan happens once; it cannot be recreated.’