From paanwala to wrestler, this is how Ramanand Sagar changed his fortunes, ‘Ramayana’ made him a star overnight

Ramanand Sagar had signed artists like Arun Govil, Deepika Likhalia, Sunil Lahiri and Arvind Trivedi in his Ramayan. But, many people were also cast who were not actors. They had no connection whatsoever with acting.

Still, whatever character was given to them, they played it with great enthusiasm. Let us tell you that Ramanand Sagar had cast a wrestler to play the role of Sugriva and Bali in Ramayana. At the same time, he had made a woman living in Surat, Gujarat, Trijata.

Ramanand Sagar made stars by casting non-actors

The Sushen Vaidya who ordered Sanjeevani Booti for Laxman in Ramayana was not an actor. Rather, he used to run a paan shop. His name was Ramesh Chaurasia. He used to have a small paan shop near Dewasgach bus stand of Ujjain.

She got this role because of Arvind Trivedi. Whereas, the role of Trijata was played by Surat resident Vibhuti Paresh Chandra Dave. Vibhuti had knowledge of astrology and Ramanand Sagar liked this very much. She also spoke very well.

In such a situation, Ramanand Sagar took her audition and finalized her for the role of Trijata. A person working in Ramanand Sagar’s production unit played 11 roles in Ramayana. He was also not an actor. His name was Aslam Khan.

In Ramayana, Aslam Khan was seen in dozens of roles, including the role of Samudra Dev, Maharishi Valmiki and brother-in-law Brihaspati. At many places in the show, he also played Ram in place of Arun Govil. A wrestler was cast in Ramayana for the role of Sugriva and Bali.

The makers had to go through a lot of trouble for casting this character. Because, an artist was needed who could match Dara Singh. Such a person was searched in many Akharas.

Then one day, when the shooting was going on in the forest, a broad-bodied man came wearing the costume of Sugriva and Bali and said that he wanted to play that role. His name was Shyam Sundar Kalani, who belonged to Indore. His language was very rough, hence his dialogues were dubbed in the serial.

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