Ramanand Sagar’s blockbuster television series Ramayan, which had captivated and enthralled millions of Indians back in the 1980s, was met with fierce opposition from the then Secretary of Information & Broadcasting Ministry Bhaskar Ghose, who is the father of alleged journalist Sagarikha Ghose.
In the biography of Ramanand Sagar titled An Epic Life: Ramanand Sagar: From Barsaat to Ramayan penned by the ace film director’s son Prem Sagar, it has been mentioned that Bhaskar Ghose wanted to secularize the Hindu epic series and even tried to stop the series midway.
“Ghose’s dictatorship still did not end. He told Papaji (referring to this father Ramanand Sagar) that by reducing the Hindu element in Ramayan, it could be made a little more secular so that it could be watched by diverse viewers. This meant that there was no unity among the Hindus, and their ascendency could be in danger”, notes Prem Sagar in his father’s biography.
It must be noted that the series enjoyed great popularity even among members of the Islamic faith according to D. K. Bose, the media director of Hindustan Thompson Associates.
“But Papaji did not give up, despite all these conspiracies by Ghose. Nor did he agree to any kind of compromise in his direction of the show which he felt could not be stopped or changed. He was smart enough to send the video tapes to Ghose just at the time when there were only few hours left for the broadcast.” Prem Sagar writes.
He also noted that the show invited continuous barrage of criticism from the press and bureaucrats who wanted to truncate the show despite its massive success.
“Bhaskar Ghose refused to give Papaji an additional twenty-six weeks so that the show could be stopped midway. But the addiction to Ramayan in the country was so strong that if it had stopped, the whole country would have been hurt. Despite Ghose’s many efforts, the broadcast of the show did not stop.”, Prem Sagar mentions.
This excerpt from Ramayana serial producer Ramanand Sagar’s biography by his son states how then DD head Bhaskar Ghose wanted to make Ramayana ‘secular’ to appease ‘minorities’. Bhaskar Ghose is @ghosesagarika’s daddy and @sardesairajdeep’s father-in-law!pics via @CestMoiz pic.twitter.com/0Co5kb5FoP
— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) July 28, 2022
Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan was first aired in Doordarshan between 1987 and 1988. Back then, the show had a viewership like no other and earned a hefty amount for each episode. It was once again re-telecasted during the 2020 corona virus lockdown and managed to create a record even in this age of digital OTT platforms. The show became the highest viewed entertainment programme globally when 77 million people watched the show on April 16, 2020.
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