Ramanand Sagarâs Ramayan first aired more than three decades ago in 1987. 

The amount of sentimentality and reverence the show enjoyed at the time, can be gauged not only by the testimonials the elders in our house share, but also by the showâs current rating on Doordarshan.

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People flocked to the sets in large numbers to get a glimpse of Ram, Laxman and Sita, made immortal by actors Arun Govil, Sunil Lahri and Dipika Chikhlia. 

As the popular show is being rerun on DD National amid the country-wide lockdown, MensXP got in touch with the son of the showâs late art director. 

Mr Vipin Bhai Patel was kind enough to share some unknown facts and never-seen-before photos related to Ramanand Sagarâs Ramayan.

© MensXP/Vipin Bhai Patel

1. There are many reports which claim that Ramayan was shot in Mumbai. But in reality, the show was shot in the Vrindavan Studio in Umargam, Gujarat.

2. Art director and the then owner of the studio late Mr Hirabhai Patel was responsible for designing all the major components of the show, right from the costumes, sitting areas, chariots to the set itself.

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3. Hirabhai Patel had also been well-versed in Trick Photography (a special form of photography that uses special methods to make unreal things seem very real), which gave the show a whole new dimension and made everything seem true to life.

4. Mr Hirabhai Patel acquired a 40-acre piece of land in Gujarat under a government subsidy scheme, and set up the Ramayan studio on it.

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5. The studio is located along a seashore and has multiple locations on its premises. Many scenes featuring the sea in Ramayan were shot inside the studio itself. It is also said that post the shooting of Ramayan, Shri Krishna was also shot in the same studio.

6. Son of Late Mr Hirabhai Patel and the current owner of Vrindavan studio, Vipin Bhai Patel also shared that director Ramanand Sagar and his father were close associates. The director would discuss various matters of the show with Hirabhai Patel and then decide on the future course of action.

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7. Reportedly, the shooting of Ramayan began in 1985 and went on for the next five years.

8. The studio was let out on shift basis and for every 8-hour shift, the renting changes would be Rs 2000. Every significant scene in the show, right from the jungle to the battle scenes were shot inside the studio.

9. The creation of particular elements of the set, including costumes, jewellery and even weapons were first hand-painted by Mr Hirabhai Patel upon discussing it with the director. Only then were they physically created.

10. Trick photography/videography would be used to make things appear larger than life on-screen. For instance, Ravanâs palace in the show seems humongous, but in reality, the palace was merely 4 feet in height.

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Check out more never-seen-before photos here:

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Inputs taken from an exclusive story covered by Mradul Rajpoot for MensXP Hindi.

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