Ramayan (2002 TV series)
Ramayan is a Hindi TV series that was aired on Zee TV in 2001. It is a television adaptation of the ancient Indian epic of the same name, and is primarily based on Valmiki's "Ramayana," Tulsidas' "Ramcharitramanas" , Kalidasa's "Raghuvaṃśa" and Kambar's Kambh Ramayana . It was produced and directed by Baldev Raj Chopra and Ravi Chopra. The scripting for the series was done by Ram Govind and Research was done by Satish Bhatnagar, Hasan Kamal and Shafiq Ansari. Dharam Chopra was the Director of Photography. Each Episode started with a title song sung by  Vinod Rathod and ended with a doha or couplet sung by Manoj Mishra and written by Maya Govind. The weekly series were telecast every Sunday morning at 9:00 AM. It was re-telecast on television in the year 2008 on Zee TV as well as DD National. Premise. The show starts with Introduction of King Dashrath followed by his grave for not having a son. Guru Vashisht suggests him to go to rishi shringi. King Dashrath goes in search for rishi Shringi, After many hardships, he convinces Rishi Shring for Santati Yagya. After completion of the yagya, King Dashrath has  four sons, Ram, Bharat, Laxman and Shatrughan. It covers several scenes from the Maharishi Valmiki's Ramayana. Scenes of Ram going to gurukul and coming back are shown. Sita's swayamwar and Ram-Sita Marriage is also shown here. Recalling that Dasharath had once promised to grant kaikeyi any two boons that she asked of him, she demands first that Ram should be exiled to the forest for 14 years and second that Bharat should be crowned ruler in his stead. Although heartbroken, Dasharath is compelled to keep his word. Reluctantly, he asks Ram to leave for the forest. Ram  happily accepts the exile and leaves for the forest. Ram reluctantly accepts the company of his wife, Sita, and his younger brother, Lakshman. When Bharat learns that his mother is responsible for Ram's exile, he follows Ram and begs him to return with him to Ayodhya. However, Ram refuses, bound by his duty to carry out his father's promise. Bharat decides instead to bring back to the palace Rama's paduka and places them on the throne as a gesture that Ram is the true king. Upon Ram's insistence, Their fourth brother rules as his proxy over  Ayodhya throughout the 14 year exile. Ram, Sita, and Lakshman wander the forests, combating evil wherever they encounter it. They gain the blessings of numerous wise men and sages along the way. Twelve years into the exile, Ravan, the King of Lanka, abducts Sita. In their search of her, Ram and Lakshman meet Hanuman, Sugriv, Jamvanta, and the Vanar Sena. When they reach Lanka, Rama battles Ravan and ultimately kills him, signifying triumph of good over evil. Lord Ram returns back to Ayodhya and is Declared the King of Ayodhya. The series end with incrownation of Lord Ram. Episodes. There  were total of 48 episodes which were aired Every Sunday 9AM. Reception. Even though Ramayan did not prove to be as successful as Mahabharat (1988 TV series) but it did become popular. Within 2 years, B.R Films had released 38 episodes of the series. In May 2003, it was consistently in Zee's top 10 ratings. Although its a forgotten serial of the old era, It was one of the most watched tv serial during 2002-2003. While working on the sets of Ramayan, In an interview, said Ravi Chopra "Because of the phenomenal success of "Mahabharata"," , "The expectations from  our "Ramayana" are very high. We have once again Nitish Bharadwaj playing the main role of Ram and Smriti Malhotra-Irani is Sita. We have better technology today and better facilities than when we made our first epic. I have depended mainly on the original "Valmiki Ramayana" and the "Ramcharit-Manas" of Tulsidas. At the very outset, I am planning to outline the value of "Maryada", which is an entirely Indian concept and is epitomised by Ram, who is called "Maryada Purushottam." Nitish Bharadwaj, who also contributes to the script with his inputs of research on the character of Ram , will define "Maryada," a value which sets out the civilised limits and self-imposed controls of behaviour for people who want to live enlightened lives. Such explanations will enrich the narrative immeasurably. "My sets are designed with great attention to detail. The costume team works closely with us. We have used references from sculptures, frescoes, temple carvings and manuscripts while designing of ambience, which is rich and ornate. Ram Govind is doing the script. We normally get the script of ten episodes ready and plan the look and feel of the serial. In mythologicals, casting and dialogues have to be  perfect. The success of our "Mahabharata" was mainly due to excellence in these two areas. Rahi Masoom Raza wrote brilliant dialogues which linked eternal values from the epic to modern living and the result was almost electric. Even in "Ramayana", the effort is to apply modern yardsticks to old values and to justify why characters took particular actions though they may seem incorrect in the present day context. "Today, television is a game of numbers. Everything rests on how much money a serial makes and what TRPs it gets. The making of "Ramayana" is an opportunity to combine beauty, glamour , values, beautiful language, beautiful relationships, memorable visuals and of course stories which touch every heart. "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana" are fountains of eternal wisdom and immortal values. The narratives and the characters who play them out run in the blood of every Indian. Epics give a special fragrance to the Indian soil. They give all religions in India their soul and our culture is rich and scintillating because of them. Stories can be retold on television in every decade without losing any freshness. I’m fortunate to do this!"