Dipika Chikhlia on her on-screen son Swwapnil Joshi from Uttar Ramayan

Ramayan has collected a record viewership and has brought Doordarshan back in the reckoning in the top channels. And now the follow-up series to Ramayan – Uttar Ramayan is on air. Swwapnil Joshi started his career with Ramanand Sagar’s show Uttar Ramayan, where he played the role of young Kush.

In a conversation, Dipika, who played his mother in the show spoke about him as a child actor. She called him very good looking and says he always knew that he will become an actor. About Swwapnil, Dipika shared, “He was a very enterprising child and very good-looking. I used to paint a lot in those days. He would come to me and tell me ‘Please teach me how to paint. I love painting.’ He was always talkative and always knew he wanted to be an actor. On the other hand, the other kid Mayuresh he knew that he wanted to do something else and not acting. Swwapnil is quite famous in the Marathi movie industry and doing well for himself. They were 8-9-year-old kids and exactly knew what to do in those days. They were also very friendly.”

A follow-up series Luv-Kush based on the last chapter of Ramayana Uttar Kand aired from 1988 to 1989. Swwapnil Joshi essayed Kush and Mayuresh Kshetramade played Luv, who were the sons of Lord Ram and Sita.

About her Uttar Ramayan experience, Dipika shared, “In Uttar Ramayan, the glam quotient which you had seen in Ramayan, lessens. It becomes a simple story of Valmiki ji, Luv Kush, motherly love, kids’ education and all. It is a story of single mother. I think she is the first single mother in the history of Indian culture. It is very interesting. She leaves the palace when she was pregnant.”

The show focused on Sita as a single-mother bringing up her two sons – Luv Kush, while Ram spent his time serving as a King.