Ramayan's Sugriva, actor Shyam Sundar Kalani dies

Shyam Sundar Kalani as Sugriva in Ramayan.

Actor Shyam Sundar Kalani, who played Sugriva in the hit TV series Ramayan, has died. His death was condoled by his co-stars in the Doordarshan show, Arun Govil and Sunil Lahri.

Govil, who played Lord Ram in the series, wrote in a tweet, “Sad to know about demise of Mr. Shyam Sundar who played the role of Sugreev in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan... A very fine person and a gentleman. May his soul rest in peace.”

May his soul rest in peace.

He was a fine actor indeed!

Somehow, it never struck me that he played the roles of both Sugriva and Vali. Although I understand how nobody may wanna have a fulltime actor playing Vali, given how brief his appearance in the story was

About the actors many had done several roles if u see properly. One of them was Aslam Khan. Watch same actor as sadhu samudra devta one as vaanar one as ravan ka minister. This re run gave us names of lesser known actors who were part of this ramayan..

About sugreev Bali both brothers looked same that's why ram couldn't use his weapon. They were same that's y same actor used.

One thing I noticed all actors who played vanars their get up was so good they looked like real vanars.

Funny thing is now with covid virus all have to complusory use masks so now all of us are going to look like vanars.

One thing about Rama's confusion - if you look at 2 monkeys (of the same species), they'll look the same to you too, unless you've had time to have a really long, close look at them. So just b'cos he couldn't distinguish b/w them during their first fight doesn't imply that those 2 were identical twins. Also keep in mind that in their first encounter, that was the first time that Rama had ever seen Vali. Another thing - men do not notice what clothes people wear, unless they're really outrageously outlandish: therefore, the assumptions that serials make that not only did Vali and Sugriva look alike, but they dressed alike as well, is not well founded. Like Sugriva could have worn a red vastra, Vali could have worn green, and Rama would still have been justified in not knowing who was who. So the garland was a good idea.

In fact, in the story of their birth, Surya's sperms got to Riksh-raj's armpits, while Indra's sperms got to her hair. So these 2 weren't identical twins the way, say, Marie-Kate and Ashley Olsen are.

Yeah, I do appreciate getting the complete cast list of that series' actors.

Thank you for creating this thread, Vrish. The fact that he made it difficult for many viewers to ascertain that both roles were played by the same actor is a testament to his commendable performance, how he distinguished the cool and overconfident Vaali from the impulsive, frenetically anxious, but sincere and devout Sugriv. May his soul rest in peace!

Hats of to Naarad TV, too, they were the first to break the news and have been doing a lot of great research into these forgotten faces from Ramayan and other old mythos so they get the appreciation they're due. Highly recommend checking out their channel for details on these supporting actors as well as interviews.

Originally posted by: .Vrish.

Another thing - men do not notice what clothes people wear, unless they're really outrageously outlandish: therefore, the assumptions that serials make that not only did Vali and Sugriva look alike, but they dressed alike as well, is not well founded. Like Sugriva could have worn a red vastra, Vali could have worn green, and Rama would still have been justified in not knowing who was who. So the garland was a good idea.

You haven't changed ONE bit, have you... same old pet peeves 😆 I remember when the repeat costumes in BRC MB used to piss you off Definitely true that guys don't notice clothes though, no matter how hard you try to make them 😔

Oh and fun fact, Mary Kate and Ashley are fraternal 😉

Originally posted by: MagadhSundari

You haven't changed ONE bit, have you... same old pet peeves 😆 I remember when the repeat costumes in BRC MB used to piss you off Definitely true that guys don't notice clothes though, no matter how hard you try to make them 😔

Oh and fun fact, Mary Kate and Ashley are fraternal 😉

Not BRC - but Dwarakadheesh! In BRC, the costumes were the one thing I was not critical about. Dwarakadheesh was a fusion of Trojan, Rajput and Zulu 😆

Originally posted by: .Vrish.

Not BRC - but Dwarakadheesh! In BRC, the costumes were the one thing I was not critical about. Dwarakadheesh was a fusion of Trojan, Rajput and Zulu 😆

Hahhh I specifically remember you not liking Arjun's constant white costume in BRC 😆 But yeah the DBSK ones were pretty wild, and the newer ones are even stranger. We'll have to take this conversation elsewhere so we don't get into comparison territory but... boy have I seen some sights 🤣

Okay, now I remember - in BRC, it was rather strange that all the 'good' people (in the eyes of that production) - Bheeshma, Drona, Yudhisthir and Arjun - were permanently in white, while everyone else wore other colors.

Okay, we can take this conversation to the BRC forum, especially since it has nothing to do w/ Sugriva any longer