I was too thin to be Hanuman; Anand ji, in his personal capacity supported me financially to build my body for Hanuman: Vikram Mastal

Anand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’ is currently re-running on Dangal channel. The upcoming episodes will emphasize on the importance of Hanuman and Lord Ram’s divine companionship. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu mythological show ‘Ramayan’. One of the most loved and crucial characters of Ramayan – Hanuman was played by Vikram Mastal. It is said that the actor ended up getting the role by chance.

Talking about how he bagged the role and what preparations were required, Vikram Mastal says, “I had visited Anand Sagar’s office where the auditions for Ramayan were taking place. I had thought of auditioning for the character of Meghnath. However, the casting director asked me to randomly pick up a script for the audition and I ended up reciting Hanuman’s dialogue. The channel and the production team loved my audition so much that they offered me Hanuman’s role. However, I was skeptical to play the role of Hanuman due to my lean body. At that time, Rakesh Jain and Shahab Shamsi told me that my track would appear after 6 months and therefore I should build my body by then. Considering that I was a beginner in the industry, I didn’t have the necessary financial support to afford supplements or go to the gym. To this, Anand sir in his personal capacity offered me Rs 20,000 per month for my workout sessions and supplements.”

Talking about how the producer took efforts to build a character, Vikram says, “Anand ji made sure I look like Hanuman in a matter of 6 month’s. His compassion and dedication for his work motivated me to build my body. I went on from 76kgs to a 101 kgs to look like Hanuman.”

Anand Sagar’s Ramayan in entertaining million viewers once again. The part of Hanuman in Ramayan is one of the most exciting bits as he is a steadfast devotee of Lord Ram and plays a major part in the battle against Ravan.

Ramayan, the epic tale of promises and ideologies is aired every evening at 7.30pm and repeat telecast at 9.30am only on Dangal TV.