# Shrimad Ramayan

Shrimad Ramayan (transl. Holy Ramayana) is an Indian Hindi-language television series that premiered from 1 January 2024 to 9 August 2024 on Sony TV and airing on Sony SAB from 12 August 2024 to 10 March 2025. Produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary under the banner of Swastik Productions, the series is based on the epic Ramayana. It stars Sujay Reu as Rama and Prachi Bansal as Sita.

## Plot

The series showcases the life of Rama, the 7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It shows how he dealt with hardships in his life and how his life became an inspiration. It also showcases the ordeal and journey he went through to free his beloved wife, Sita (Incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi), from the rakshasa king Ravana, who abducted her. Lord Ram is born to King Dasharatha and Kaushalya while Bharat (incarnation of Vishnu's Shankha) is born to Kaikeyi and Lakshman (Sheshanaga) and Shatrughan (Sudarshan Chakra) are born to Sumitra. King Janak and Queen Sunayana get Sita from the Land. Her sister Urmila (Nagalakshmi), Cousins Mandavi (Lakshmi's Shankha) and Shrutkirti (Lakshmi's Chakra) grew up together and Sita lifts Lord Mahadev's Bow pinaka. After growing up Ram and Lakshman defeat Tataka and her sons with the guidance of Sage Vishwamitra and reaches Mithila Ram - Sita, Bharat - Mandavi, Lakshman - Urmila and Shatrughan - Shrutkirti get married. Manthara, along with Kaikeyi sends them to exile. The rest of the story is about the difficulties and hardships they faced during and after the exile and how Lord Ram defeated Ravan without leaving Dharma(righteousness).The show then focuses on Luv and Kush, The sons of Lord Ram And Goddess Sita and their Reunion. Goddess Sita spends 12 years into he forest nurturing Lav and Kush as Sita is sent once again on exile when a launder questions Sita's purity. She lives in Lord Valmiki's Aashram. Lav and Kush eventually engage in war with Lord Ram without knowing Goddess Sita is their mother and Lord Ram is their father, this leads to the family's reunion but Sita's purity is once again in question so Sita returns to mother earth. As the time of Lord Ram's departure from mortal world nears, lakshman takes jal samadhi and returns to Sheshnaag form. Lord Ram later crowns Lav as King of North Ayodhya with Lavpuri as his capital kingdom and Kush is crowned as King of South Ayodhya with Kushavati as his capital kingdom. The sons of Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughan are also given their respective kingdom's to rule. Bharat's son elder Pushkala ruled over Pushkalavati and younger son Taksha ruled over Takshila. Lakshman' s elder son Angad was given kingdom of Karupada and younger son Chandraketu ruled over a Kingdom named Chandrakanta. Shatrughna's elder son Subahu ruled over Madhupur and younger son, Shatrughati was crowned as King of Vidisha. At last Ram, Bharat and Shatrughna take jal samadhi while Hanuman and Vibhishan are asked to stay in mortal world until Lord Vishnu takes their final avatar in Kal Yug and help him in re-establish dharma in Kal Yug.

## Cast
### Main

* Sujay Reu as Rama / Lord Vishnu - Vishnu's 7th Avatar; Dasharatha and Kaushalya's son; Bharat, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's brother; Sita's husband; Lav and Kush's father
** Tanmay Shah as Young Ram
* Prachi Bansal as Sita / Devi Mahalakshmi / Mahakali- Lakshmi's incarnation; Janak and Sunaina's elder daughter; Urmila's sister, Mandavi and Shrutakirti's cousin; Rama's wife; Lav and Kush's mother
** Hansika Jangid as Young Sita
* Basant Bhatt as Lakshmana - Sheshanaga's incarnation; Dasharatha and Sumitra's elder son; Rama, Bharata and Shatrughna's brother; Urmila's husband; Angada and Chandraketu's father
** Subhan Khan as Young Lakshman
* Nikitin Dheer as Ravana - Jaya's incarnation; King of Lanka; Vishrava and Kaikasi's second son; Sahastra Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's brother; Mandodari's husband; Meghanada, Akshayakumara and Atikaya's father
** Athar Khan as Young Ravan
* Nirbhay Wadhwa as
** Hanuman - Lord Vayu's son; Kesari and Anjana's son; Rama's devotee
*** Karim Qureshi as Young Hanuman
** Makaradhwaja - Hanuman's son
* Praneet Bhat as Sahastra Ravana - Vishrava and Kaikasi's eldest son; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shrupanakha's brother; Indumukhi's husband and Chandrabahu's father

### Recurring

* Nikhlesh Rathore as Bharata - Shankha's incarnation; Dasharatha and Kaikeyi's son; Ram, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's brother; Mandavi's husband; Taksha and Pushkala's father
** Hassan Syed as Young Bharata
* Samarthya Gupta / Purusharth Rawat as Shatrughna - Sudarshana's incarnation; Dasharatha and Sumitra's younger son; Rama, Bharata and Lakshmana's brother; Shrutakirti's husband; Subahu and Shatrughati's father
** Shabd Grover as Young Shatrughna
* Vaidehi Nair as Urmila - Nagalakshmi's incarnation; Janak and Sunaina's younger daughter; Sita's sister, Mandavi and Shrutakirti's cousin; Lakshmana's wife; Angada and Chandraketu's mother
** Purvi Mishra as Young Urmila
* Sheersha Tiwari as Mandavi - Lakshmi shankh's incarnation; Kushadhvaj and Chandrabhaga's elder daughter; Sita and Urmila's cousin; Shrutakirti's sister; Bharata's wife; Taksha and Pushkala's mother
** Dhwani Buch as Young Mandavi
* Siddhi Sharma / Charmi Dhami / Sonal Singh as Shrutakirti - Lakshmi chakra's incarnation; Kushadhvaj and Chandrabhaga's younger daughter; Sita and Urmila's cousin; Mandavi's sister; Shatrughna's wife; Subahu and Shatrughati's mother
** Dhivija Arora as Young Shrutakirti
* Atharv J Jhony as Kusha - Ram and Sita's younger son; Lava's twin brother
* Shourya Mandoriya as Lava - Ram and Sita's elder son; Kusha's twin brother
* Aarav Chowdhary as Dasharatha - King of Ayodhya; Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra's husband; Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's father
* Anandi Tripathi as Kaushalya - Dasharatha's first wife; Rama's mother
* Shilpa Saklani as Kaikeyi - Dasharatha's second wife; Bharata's mother
* Bhawna Aneja as Sumitra - Dasharatha's third wife; Lakshmana and Shatrughna's mother
* Jiten Lalwani as Janaka - King of Mithila; Kushadhvaja's brother; Sunaina's husband; Sita and Urmila's father
* Via Roy Chaudhary as Sunayana - Janaka's wife; Sita and Urmila's mother
* Arnav as Somkaran - Luv and Kush's friend
* Dhrisha Kalyani as - Prasuta; Sister in Law
* Rushiraj Pawar as Meghanada - Ravana and Mandodari's elder son; Akshayakumara and Atikaya's brother; Sulochana's husband
* Gurpreet Bedi / Harleen Rekhi as Mandodari - Mayasura and Hema's daughter; Ravana's wife; Meghanada and Akshayakumara's mother
* Sameer Khan as Kumbhakarna - Vijaya's incarnation; Vishrava and Kaikasi's second son; Sahastra Ravana, Ravana, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's brother; Kumbha and Nikumbha's father
** Nishkarsh Dixit as Young Kumbhakarna
* Kunal Bakshi as Vibhishana - Vishrava and Kaikasi's third son; Sahastra Ravana, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Shurpanakha's brother; Rama's devotee
* Sangeeta Odwani as Shurpanakha - Vishrava and Kaikasi's daughter; Sahastra Ravana, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana's sister; Vidyutjiva's wife; Shambuka's mother
* Akash Kapoor as Akshayakumara - Ravana and Mandodari's younger son; Meghanada and Atikaya's brother
* Malhar Pandya as
** Sugriva - King of Kishkindha; Vali's younger twin brother; Ruma and Tara's husband
** Vali - King of Kishkindha; Sugriva elder twin's brother; Tara's husband; Angada's father
* Abhishek Jangra as Angada - Prince of Kishkindha; Vali and Tara's son
* Vanshika Yadav as Trinavati - Princess of Kishkindha; Sugriv and Ruma's daughter
* Tarun Sharma as
** Jatayu - Shyeni and Aruna's younger son; Sampati's brother
** Jambavan - Rama's devotee; Jambavati's father
* Tarun Khanna as Lord Shiva - Parvati's husband; Kartikeya and Ganesha's father
* Aishwarya Raj Bhakuni as Devi Parvati/ Mahagauri - Shiva's wife; Kartikeya and Ganesha's mother
* Ketan Karande as Nandi Lord Shiva's bull
* Geeta Khanna as Manthara - Kaikeyi's maid
* Surendra Pal / Krishnakant Singh Bundela as Vasishtha - Family priest of Ayodhya; Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna's teacher
* Vishnu Sharma as Vishvamitra - Rama and Lakshmana's teacher
* Dhananjay Singh as Sumantra - Dasharatha's minister
* Yogesh Mahajan as Shatananda - Gautama Maharishi and Ahalya's son; Janaka's advisor
* Manish Khanna as Jabali - Dasharatha's advisor
* Sandeep Arora as Nala - Vishwakarma's son; Nila's brother
* Nitin Parashar as Nila - Vishwakarma's son; Nala's brother
* Snehal Waghmare as Tara - Vali and Sugriva's wife; Angad's mother
* Meghna Panchal as Rumā - Sugriva and Vali's wife
* Jameel Chaudhary as Kesari - Brihaspati's son; Anjana's husband; Hanuman's father
* Kinjal Pandya as Anjana - Kesari's wife; Hanuman's mother
* Mrinal Shrivastav as Shabari - Rama's devotee; Matanga's student
* Deepak Bhatia as Parashurama - Vishnu's 6th incarnation; Jamadagni and Renuka’s son; Shiva’s disciple
* Garima Jain as Ahalya - Gautama's wife; Shatananda's mother
* Arun Singh as Atri - Anasuya's husband; Rama's guide; One of the Saptarshis
* Sampada Vaze as Anasuya - Atri's wife
* Meenakshi Sethi as Gargi - Vachaknu's daughter
* Raja Kapse as Kakabhushundi - Rama's devotee
* Neha Nirwan as Sulochana - Vasuki and Shatashirsha's daughter; Meghanada's wife
* Brownie Parashar as Shukracharya - Meghanada's teacher
* Kamaljeet Rana as Khara - Dushana's twin brother; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's step-brother
* Arjun Kumar as Vidyutjiva - Shurpanakha's husband; Shambuka's father
* Devish Ahuja as Shambuka - Shurpanakha and Vidyutjiva's son
* Neetu Pandey as Kaikasi - Vishrava's wife; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's mother
* Yogesh Bhardwaj as Prahasta - Sumali and Ketumathi's son; Ravana's uncle; Lanka's chief commander
* Vineet Asthana as Kumbha - Kumbhakarna and Vajrajvala's elder son; Nikumbha's brother
* Touseef Raza Barkati as Nikumbha - Kumbhakarna and Vajrajvala's younger son; Kumbha's brother
* Bhupinder Bhoopi as Kampana, Lankan Commander in Ravana’s army
* Ansha Sayed as Tataka - Sunda's wife; Marich and Subhau's mother
* Satendra Yadav as Subahu - Sunda and Tataka's son; Marich's brother
* Asha Singh as Trijata - Sita's guard at Ashoka vatika
* Ritu P Sood as Surasa - Daksha and Asikni's daughter; Kashyapa's wife
* Mohammed Saud Suri as Shravana Kumara - Shantanu and Gyanvanti's son
* Govind Namdev as Lord Brahma - Creator of the Universe; Saraswati's husband
* Shreya Khanna as Saraswati - Goddess of Knowledge; Brahma's wife
* Yash Bhojwani as Lord Kartikeya - God of Victory and War; Shiva and Parvati's elder son
* Riyansh Vikram Dhabi or Kaizan Khambatta as Lord Ganesha - God of Wisdom and Luck; Shiva and Parvati's younger son
* Devesh Gangawar as Surya - Spiritual teacher of Hanuman
* Meer Ali as Indra - King of Devas; Jayanta's father
* Gaurav Sharma as Jayanta - Indra's son
* Bharat Bhatia as Kubera - God of Wealth; Vishrava and Ilavida's son; Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana and Shurpanakha's step-brother
* Sharma M Shishir as Shani - God of Karma
* Aryan Hasan as Varshal Mahabal - Commander of the Monkey Army
* Sandeep Sharma as Narada - Messenger of the Devas
* Punesh Tripathi as Jambumali - Prahasta's son; Ravana's cousin
* Rivaan Thakkar as Angada - Lakshmana and Urmila's elder son; Chandraketu's elder brother
* Samveg Kaudan as Chandraketu - Lakshmana and Urmila's younger son; Angad's younger brother
* Rithvik Gupta as Taksha - Bharata and Mandavi's elder son; Pushkala's elder brother
* Veer Sharma as Pushkala - Bharata and Mandavi's younger son; Taksha's younger brother
* Prithil Jain as Subahu - Shatrughna and Shrutakirti's elder son; Shatrughati's elder brother
* Goraksh Babel as Shatrughati - Shatrughna and Shrutakirti's younger son; Subahu's younger brother

## Production
### Development

Siddharth Kumar Tewary announced Shrimad Ramayan, that is produced under his banner Swastik Productions in August 2023. It is an adaptation of the epic Ramayana, and is based on Valmiki's Ramayana and Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas. In December 2023, Tewary stated that criticism to film Adipurush, was one of the reason to make the show. He added,
   Honestly, I like the fact that audiences are sensitive towards the history of our country. It defines our history, culture and even our country. There is a reason why someone would get offended. And it's not my intention to offend anyone. I want them to come together and celebrate it with me. I have a proper research team and everything that's going out, every word about this show is properly vetted. So if anyone raises a question tomorrow, we have an authentic source that we can count on.
The team of Shrimad Ramayan also visited Ayodhya, before the launch of the series.

### Casting

Sujay Reu and Prachi Bansal were cast as Rama and Sita respectively. The series marks Reu's third and Bansal's second project with the production house. Basant Bhatt and Vaidehi Nair were cast as Lakshmana and Urmila. Nirbhay Wadhwa was cast as Hanuman, in his fourth on-screen portrayal of the character.
In October 2023, Nikitin Dheer joined the cast as Ravana, marking his television comeback after 5 year. Aarav Chowdhary was cast as Dashratha. Nikhilesh Rathore was then cast as Bharata and Samarthya Gupta was cast as Shatrughna. Later, Anandi Tripathi was cast as Kaushalya, Bhawna Aneja as Sumitra and Shilpa Saklani as Kaikeyi. Neetu Pandey was cast as Kaikasi.
In January 2024, Gurpreet Bedi was cast to play Mandodari and Garima Jain was cast to play Ahalya. Sangeeta Odwani was cast to play Shurpanakha and Arjun Kumar was cast to play Vidyutjiva. Later, in February 2024, Rushiraj Pawar was cast to play Meghanada. In March 2024, Malhar Pandya was cast in the dual role of brothers Sugriva and Vali. In September 2024, Atharv J Jhony and Shourya Mandoriya were cast as Kusha and Lava respectively.

### Design

The series set covering 10 acres of land in Umargam, Valsad, Gujarat, is designed by art director Omung Kumar. Costume designer of the series is Shibapriya Sen. Sita's wedding look included 15kg lehenga and 15meter long head trail. The hand-made embroidery took 3 days and 18 hours, with the entire lehenga taking 5 days to complete. Sen added,
   Designing Sita's wedding look was ethereal, where femininity met divinity. It was a blessing to design the wedding looks for Prabhu Shri Ram and Mata Sita. The costumes and accessories were heavy, but the actors embraced it. We've maintained the sanctity of the occasion through traditional craftsmanship.

### Filming

Shrimad Ramayan is mainly shot in Umargam in Gujarat and has a high production and VFX value.

### Dubbed versions

Since May 2024, Shrimad Ramayan has been dubbed in other languages such as in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. It is broadcast on Sun TV Network's group of channels in the respective languages. The show is also dubbed in Bengali language and is broadcast on Sony Aath since October 2024.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Shrimad Ramayan has been composed by Lalit Sen with lyrics written by Vinod Sharma. Subhadeep Das Chowdhury, Menuka Poudel, Vaibhav Gupta, Ananya Pal and Utkarsh Wankhede, the contestants of Indian Idol 14 have also sung a version of the title song.

## Reception

Gayatri Nirmal from Pinkvilla stated, "The surprisingly fresh and convincing cast works. The rich storytelling and the VFX (visual effects) literally added life to the characters, and the dialogues, drawn from the original scripture of Valmiki, are both powerful and thought-provoking."

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2024 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Actor in a Negative Role | Nikitin Dheer | Won |
| 2024 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Costumes | Shibapriya Sen | Won |
| 2024 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Music Composer – TV | Lalit Sen | Won |
| 2024 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Singer – TV | Harshit Saxsena | Won |