Published 16:55 IST, May 19th 2020
‘Ramayan’ actors would shoot at 3 am if Ramanand Sagar finished writing, son reveals
It is a lesser-known fact that the entire crew of Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan used to shoot extensively round the clock. Read ahead to know more about their shoot
Since the world has been dealing with a pandemic, positivity is surely the need of the hour. In such a time of crisis, Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan is back to entertain audiences all over India with its heartfelt narrative, once again. The beautiful performances by actors and an immersive storyline make the show a complete family entertainer. However, it is a lesser-known fact that the entire crew used to shoot extensively round the clock. So much so that, if Ramcharand Sagar finished writing a scene at 3 am, the actors would quickly get ready to shoot at that very time. Read ahead to know more-
Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan had a very hectic shooting schedule
The shooting of the auspicious show, Ramayan, went on for over 78 weeks. During this time, the Bombay-Umergaon route had cars plying and trains loaded with the Ramayan crew, as there was no particular call sheets and no fixed schedules. The cast and crew of the show had to be on their toes, as even if Ramanand Sagar finished writing a scene at 3 am, the scene would be shot right then. Over 100 workers, actors, and technicians worked round the clock in shifts, to ensure that all episodes of Ramayan would be telecasted in time every week.
The visual effects (VFX) work too had to be completed in the recorded time. Ramanand Sagar’s son, Prem Sagar once revealed during an interview with a leading entertainment daily, that there were no computers for the special effects to be created back then, and most of them had to be done using the camera. They used a few techniques such as back projection, miniatures, etc. to do the trick. Many times for night shoots, they used cotton posted on the glass to create cloud effects. Slides were used in slide projectors, and scenes like Lord Shiva dancing in the Himalayas was shot with a slide projected on a screen with miniature planets in the background. For scenes involving mountains and different forests, many times, miniature models of 10-15 feet were used.
Prem Sagar continued to reveal that a new machine SEG 2000 (Special Effects Generator) had launched in the market a little later, and from then, all the special bow and arrow effects were done using it. There were mechanical effects and glass matting for creating special effects. They even used Dhoop and incense sticks to create early morning fog effects.
It is motivating to know the amount of hard work and dedication that went in to create Ramayan for television audiences. Ramayan still remains to be a very high rated TRP show.
Updated 16:55 IST, May 19th 2020