Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan & Shri Krishna CC#5 DONE! - Page 41

Originally posted by: JanakiRaghunath

So get ready for a busy month or two, Shivang!😉

Sure. Ready.👍🏼😊

Here are my first set of questions for you!

Well there are more than one answers (tied answers) for many of the questions, but still I will try still to give just one answer of every question. But I will give tied answers with '*' symbol, meaning thereby that there is possibility of alternative choice also if you want.

1. Who is your favorite actor in RS's Ramayan & Shri Krishna?

Sunil Laheri as Lakshman* ' perfectly demonstrated all dimensions of acting ' anger, cry, energetic action, comedy, romance, devotion, politeness ' just name any. Apart from that, both acting and character are very cute & innocent.

2. Favorite actress?

Seema Kanwal/Damini Shetty ' Particularly mindblowing in two specific scenes '

(1) Around the songs ' "Hari ko maat sikhaave chalana" & "Hath me maakhan dhul bhara tan" and

(2) When Akrur reveals the secret.

3. Favorite Vanar?

Hanumanji😊😊😊 This is the easiest question of the entire lot and still I am most joyful in replying it. Personification of Bhagwad Geeta. Personification of the entire trio together ' Bhaktiyog, Gyanyog & Karmyog. If Radhaji is personification of PREMLAKSHANA BHAKTI, Hanumanji is the personification of DASYA BHAKTI.

4. Favorite Rakshas?

Vibhishan😊 Lola would have betted for that answer for anything due to my orkut posts she knows.😃 And I can even write longer essay to defend him against critics. I can go mad to change his wrong image.

5. Which of the Rajmata actresses do you think did best?

Rajni Bala as Sumitra* ' crying is most difficult part of acting when I try it and she has done everything perfectly including that thing (same logic applies to Sunil Laheri & Damini Shetty).

6. Do you imagine any of these actors/actresses as their onscreen counterparts? If so, which ones? (for example, seeing Dara Singh as the real Hanuman.)

Vijay Kavish* as Shiv (I can only visualize him as Shiv and any other actors in any mythos even on Shivji's story itself haven't been found by me to have been portrayed anywhere near to him).

7. Did you see Ramayan in its original telecast more than 20 years ago? How about Shri Krishna? If so, how was the experience. If not, when did you see the serials and how?

Now beware of my answer lengths this question onwards.😃

Ramayan (upto Rajyabhishek): By God's grace yes. I saw it in its original telecast in 1980s when I was just 5-6 years old. Experience was like that became my life from that time only. We used to record it on our VCR immediately so we could watch the same episode again & again during the week before the telecast of the next episode. Initially I watched Gurukul episodes again & again and used to remember & copy & rehearse all the dialogs of Vashisth at that little age ' Paap aur punya dono hi zanzeeren hain etc. Then the fever of weapon toys started after Taadkaa episode. I used to practice with wooden toy of bow & arrow as if I was fighting with Taadkaa and Maarich. Lol. Mace (gada) was to be added later on for sure of course.😃 I also enjoyed Pushpvatika and swayamvar sequence at that age. But Keikei Manthara part, Dashrath's death etc was not liked by others in the family also and Bharat milaap was too much for me at that age to grasp and enjoy (which I completely enjoyed around the age of 15). Next was the entire Aranya kand. I loved the song 'Jis kaaran aaye us kaaraj' from that little age and I loved naturally all the dialogs of all the sages ' Vashisth, Vishwamitra, Bharadwaj, Sharbhang, Sutikshna and others. Aranya kand that way was loved by me. It was very natural in me from childhood to get attracted to and love and respect the behaviour of innocent elder devotees and sages like they are shown in the serial. I loved the scene of Sharbhang right since the original telecast. Then Hanumanji's leela in Sundarkand (My uncle gifted me a real looking toy mace with 'Jay Shri Ram' written) & yuddh episodes ' nothing is required to be mentioned as they are liked first by any child. Over the 20-22 years, I have watched Ramayan & Ramayan songs countless number of times. Uttar Ramayan I have watched only 2-4 times ' first when it was shown on cable 10-15 years ago and not during its original telecast (Last part most frequently watched) and some of its parts just around or after Sita tyag are not seen even once (So I can say that is still not completely watched) but I also don't feel any keen desire to watch it. Keikei-Manthra planning, Dashrath's death (Particularly Shravankumar's flashback), Sita haran, Ram's consolation to Tara (Just after my favourite scene of Ram-Vali dialog) and post Ravan's death are the least watched parts of the serial so far. Rest are watched very frequently. During Sitaharan episode, Vaali beating Sugreev, Ravan kicking Vibhishan, Ravan beating Sugreev, Ravan making Sugreev-Lakshman unconscious and hitting punch to Hanumanji, Indrajeet shooting Nagpash ' these were the parts where I used to shut down eyes/ears or used to go for round to next room at that age. 😆

Shri Krishna (Upto Kalyavan's death): I just watched it last year on Star Utsav virtually or substantially. Before that, I watched it on cable in pieces 10-12 years ago and not during its original telecast. Until last year, I only had the memory of few parts like ' Kaagaasur, Trunavart, Shiv in Gokul, Nandbaba-Yashoda maiya's faces and acting, fruitseller's incident, Aghasur, Darshan to Akrur in Yamuna Gardener's incident just before Kubja's scene and Kansvadh. Family members didn't originally watch it (and therefore I also couldn't) because they found it different from their originally heard stories about Krishna (For example Golok concept was strange & new for them, Nand-Yashoda not knowing the secret was strange for them and hence they lost the essence by wasting their mind in the correctness or authenticity of the events covered). I have been enjoying Shri Krishna and its all songs thoroughly for last one year. And along with Star Utsav, through DVDs, I must have watched it now at least 4-5 times (Some parts many more than that). But I have DVDs only upto Jarasandh wars and Star Utsav originally showed it upto Dwarika nirman only. This year it continued further and I could watch in parts Syamantak, Paarijaat, Sudama, Pradhyumn, Paundrak, Hanumanji and all episodes in pieces. I haven't been tracking the Kurukshetra story though recently and still to watch it even once. But I am satisfied that I have watched the serial upto Kalyavan due to two reasons ' (1) Ramanand Sagar was fully involved until that point and (2) That is the main part of the incarnation.

3 years ago, I read the Krishnaavataar novel by Kanhaiyalal Munshi with deep interest (which I read once when I was kid below 10 years). Due to his demise, he couldn't fulfil his dream of completing it and hence it was written only upto Dhyut. And throughout my life upto 25 years, I was only knowing Ramayan story. I was knowing about Mahabharat only on the surface in pieces due to storybooks & literature of studies and general knowledge. The novel generated the curiosity to know the subsequent events of the Mahabharat story (and also because I already was devotee of Bhagwad Geeta since the age of 19 years). So 2 years ago, I got on hire BRC Mahabharat DVDs (eventually bought Moser Baer VCDs set) for watching episodes after Dhyut (That serial was also not watched by me even once until 2 years ago as I never felt to watch any mytho serial other than Ramayan. Also my family didn't like BRC MB as BalKrishnaleela was very short and it was mainly intended and focused on Hastinapur story). After watching its last part, I watched earlier part also and then watched that serial also many times in last two years. So this naturally made it almost compulsory to watch Shri Krishna to fill in the incomplete experience of Mahabharat to feel the devotion for Krishna and feel Ramanand Sagar's magic in Krishna's story also. Now my devotion and spiritual interest is independent from my family's devotion. It was not the case until the age of 19.

8. What is your favorite scene in the Ramayan and Shri Krishna serials (choose only one from both, as hard as it is!)?

😊Akrur's dialog with Gargacharya regarding Karma & Bhakti and Surdas's (previous birth) visit of the aashram in the same scene. I think I could choose it easily since I already had identified it before to be my most favourite in all the three serials without any tied case. You already know but for other member readers, here I post the link of the dialog post which you liked very much:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/chat-clubs/1406166/ramanand-sagars-ramayan-and-shri-krishna-cc-4-done?pn=75

And here is the video link of the scene:

https://movietime4u.blogspot.com/2009/01/krishna-part-78.html

9. Which scene do you think they could have filmed better in both serials?

Ramayan (upto Rajyabhishek):

Agnipariksha scene ' Song sequence taken from Ramcharitmanas is awesome & devotional. I love it. But they should have taken the concept/reason of Agnipariksha from some other source rather than Tulsi's IMO. The 'Chhaya Sita' concept makes Ram's character very inconsistent and lacking harmony with entire rest of the serial. In rest of the serial he is very much human character (Only aashirvad to Parashuram & confrontation with samudra ' just small moments ' he had Godly consciousness shown on screen). More than the miracle part (Or Ram's conscious state as God's incarnation), more disturbing part is his dialog with Lakshman when HE admits that all HE was doing until then (crying & all) was a drama ' that is an enjoyable leela of God of course but is not normal behaviour of that character until then and hence was awkward to grasp in the flow of the serial until then (As much as Lakshman was puzzled). Without any reference to any of the authentic sources, what my logic tells me that, Sitaji had the control over (Siddhi of) Agni tatva. So Agni couldn't burn her or Hanumanji at her will. So if she was pure, she could exercise that scientific/yogic procedure without being burnt. And Ramji's intention could be purely to save her from future criticism knowing fully well about the society. What Ramji did was to prove his better half pure and his faith correct in front of the future world. That can't be interpreted to be his doubt but his love for his wife and wife's prestige. And if this possible scientific reason of control over Agnitatva which Sitaji had, is publicized, others won't blindly follow Agnipariksha because all the people in the world will be burnt by fire because none of us have conquered the fire element. For example, control over vayu tatva gives the siddhi of increasing or decreasing body weight (Angad/Hanumanji/Dhanurbhang) and flying. Control over prithvi tatva gives the siddhi of appearing-disappearing-changing form.

In short, it seemed to me that Ramanand Sagarji (being a big devotee of Ramji) himself was not sure how Agnipariksha should be shown until the episode actually arrived and he selected the most devotional source in the very end revealing the suspense to the viewers dramatically. Except that scene, entire serial is perfect for me. I don't deny the correctness of Tulsidasji's concept as I totally agree with you (Lalitha) about the fact that all the Ramayanas & events in all the puran sources of Ramayan must be correct as Ramayan occurred in different kalpa with different random events. But since RSji had chosen to compile multiple sources, he had to ensure at least the consistency of characterization throughout the serial very carefully, which he did wonderfully for all except for Ramji only due to that scene. I don't have problem with miracle or superhuman justification in the scene or Ramji's consciousness about his true form but just with the inconsistency in direction.

Still I have found the logical way of achieving harmony of mind over here. I feel Lord's incarnation at his will could switch over from one state of consciousness to other ordering his maya (Somewhat similar Tulasidasji has tried to explain Ramji's behaviour after Sitaharan). I think Ramji could do it at his will or yogik excellence and control over HIS Maya's functioning with humans. He could know about his true form all the time if he wished like Krishna and he could also decide when he wanted to know and when he wanted to forget his true form (without doing acting of drama with people) by changing from one level of consciousness to another.

Shri Krishna (upto Kalyavan's death):

Killing of Kuvaliyapid elephant - The way it is shown as thrown in the air in front of the entire public looks too much even if done by Lord himself (Eventhough HE already lifted Govardhan). Again I don't have the real problem with the superhuman way actually but more human logical onscreen portrayal was possible. I don't know about the sources of different serials for this incident but in BRC MB, HE doesn't kill the animal. The animal just sits down. In the novel of Munshi (which is unauthentic because of many imaginary incidents), it has been smartly kept open both ways. Munshi has written that the animal quietly sat down and closed the eyes. RSji could show Krishna climbing over the elephant and elephant sitting down and closing the eyes. Science of Accupressure and Accupuncture says that Elephants have about 108 sensitive points ' NEELKENDRA - of the body (By pressing some through the weapon, elephant's movement can be easily controlled) out of which 14 are so delicate that by pressing those points rightly at exact accurate place by a knowledgeable and skillful person, elephant can immediately die. Even a small insect can kill the elephant.

10. Were you disappointed with any of the actors/actresses and wished the Sagars could have chosen better ones? If so, which ones?

Ramayan: I don't think of it even for a single actor.😊 Probably a few extras of Ravan's court who very softly and gently massage Angad's feet could have been avoided.😆 And I would have preferred much better characterization of Goddess Parvati ' my beloved family deity/form of Gods (nothing positive or negative to say about the actress's looks/acting/suitability but the direction).

Shri Krishna (upto Kalyavan's death excluding Hastinapur part): Actors of Jarasandh & co except Banasur actor could or should have been better. Jarasandh might not have acted badly but his look should be distinguished from other guys like Shalya etc and also he should have had more fatty/round body ' strong build. I like teenage Balram but his acting was pathetic in just one scene ' his first real scene to perform when Rohini awakes him at midnight to quietly and secretly leave Gokul with Akrur before Krishna awakes. Retakes should have been there. Thereafter, I like him very much. Among MB story actors, I only like Bhishma (Nagar) as an exceptional case. In BRC MB also, my most favourite actor is Mukesh Khanna only along with Nitish Bharadwaj.

11. Would you call yourself an obsessed fan or a moderate one?

I am not 100% sure to choose the right word here as it depends upon whether I actually have obsession at all in my nature for anything or what is exactly obsession as per my definition. But I can say OBSESSED because these divine supreme creations are the parts of my daily life and whenever I am free. They are my life now (And Ramayan was always from the beginning) and I strongly believe and wish that every child or youngster of present and future generations should watch them.

Devotee of beloved Krishna, Ram & Hanuman; most obsessed fan of the Ramayan & Geeta, its characters; and contents-music-direction of the serials; greatly above average fan of Poojya Guru Shri Ramanand Sagarji 😊 & Ravindra Jain and average fan of actors treating any actor to be a normal ordinary human.

12. If you could spend one day with an actor from either Ramayan or Shri Krishna, who would it be and how would you spend the day?

Difficult question. I would like to collect maximum information for that and rate them then on the basis of their spiritual level and devotion ' the one who is the most spiritually inclined and worth discussing epics with. The one with the most spiritual knowledge and devotion and old age respect generating power, I would select that actor. So probably Arvind Trivedi or Nitish Bharadwaj (Quoting from MB also here) or Arun Gowil or Sarva Daman Benarjee or Dara Singh or Vijay Kavish or Sudhir Dalvi. Of course had Ramanand Sagarji been alive, there wouldn't have been any dilemma in this question.😃 Don't forget he ACTED in Ramdarbar song so perfectly qualifies for this answer too.😊

If only one answer needed ' Arvind Trivedi *. And it is relatively possible also in practice because he is Gujarati and I have attended personally a few Sundar Kand readings by Ashwin Pathak along with whom he sits to sing Sundar kand on some special occasions.

13. Which of today's New Mythos do you like best and why? Is it because of the actors, storyline, settings? Basically, which factor most often makes you like any particular mytho, and same for this one?

Well, it is not possible to answer the first part of this question because I don't like to watch mytho serials in general. I have watched just and only just the three serials ' oldies and goldies. And that too only Ramayan ' the only one upto 25 years of my life. I have no internal motivation or feeling of need to watch any other mytho serials in future. Same feeling I had for BRC MB and Shri Krishna before watching them and hence I need a strong spark or SANJOG to start watching a new one from deep inside strongly. Nobody can suggest me to watch any new one. I can unbiasedly watch and like any new one if I do watch but for there should be any real logical need to spend time for it. Had I watched only Ramayan, I think I still would have been satisfied with life but everything happens for good. So now I have three (mainly two of Sagar) modes or equipments of my devotion which are enough.

Middle part of the question can be answered by arranging different factors in the order of importance (though all are more or less equally important) ' Storyline, Characterization, Casting, Music, Song lyrics, Dialogs, and then other part of the direction in general. I prefer continuous story of human incarnation of lord like Ramayan rather than bits & pieces chamatkarik leelas like Ganeshleela or Shiv mahima or Durga ma leela or Krishna's stories of killing of demons which can be edited in any manner at will chronologically. More epic based rather than Puran based.

Now the last part of the question:

I like Ramayan more than Shri Krishna for its perfection.

I like Shri Krishna more than Ramayan for some of the spiritually deep topics like Dwait-Adwait, Sagun-Nirgun bhakti, Virodh bhakti, Karmyogi vs Bhaktiyogi, etc not covered in Ramayan.

For any mytho, my criteria of liking it would be its perfection in direction with intent of purely devotion like Sagarji had. And very important for me is the factor of excellence in both logic & faith in balanced proportion. Vishwas ka ankoor tark ki bhoomi se footna chaahiye. The seed of faith, if it comes out of the land of logic, it would be everlasting and stongest. And that factor is present in all the three serials but more balanced in Sagarji's creation. In BRC's creation, devotion element is there but in very less proportion.

14. When you watch the new mythos today, do you unconsciously compare them with their old classic counterparts or do you view them with an unbiased air?

Had I felt the need to watch, I would have compared them with my benchmark for sure not just unconsciously but also consciously. But in that case, my judgment would also have been relative and that's fair I think as long as it is neutrally done. I would not pass any relative judgment with prejudice in mind or in external debates calling it to be absolute judgment. I mean my evaluation would have been both relative (but comparing with neutral mind as far as possible without the influence of prejudice ' at least I can surely say that I can try it well) and absolute at the same time so not biased.

15. Do you like any actor/actress from any of today's mythos more than you liked a particular actor/actress from the old ones? If so, who and why? (You can be completely honest, don't worry😉😆.)

Well. As you must have known now, this question will not be applicable to me.😊 But a couple of them have done great job of influencing positively some of our young generation as I can see happily (no need to mention the names of those two very good mythos supposedly - can't comment more either way as I haven't watched them or bothered to watch I should better say). But I would have preferred to see the infinite increase in popularity of old mythos just without the need of their new counterparts created. If at all there was any need (other than commercial motive of course), they should have been created with some totally different names as it becomes very tough to find in any internet search now the videos or links of old mythos by typing their names.😡 Sorry members for this genuine expression here. Wanted links hardly appear in clear front. And I would also have been most peaceful had Shri Krishna after Dwarika nirmaan would have been continued with some totally changed name by Sagar's sons (excluding Sudama episodes).😔 It would have created separate brands for separate quality creations and one brand wouldn't have spoilt the image of the other one before viewers even attempting to watch the previous brand.

Will be back with more questions for sure!👍🏼 Enjoy your fortnight!

Thank you very much dear sister.🤗 As you must have found by the length of my answer, I will be eagerly waiting for your question.😃 See you. Jai Shri Krishna.