Did you know Arun Govil, Ramayan’s Lord Rama, worked with Sridevi in Himmatwala? See rare photo

Three years before Arun Govil became a household name with Ramanand Sagar’s popular television series Ramayan, the actor played a supporting part in K Raghavendra Rao’s 1983 blockbuster Himmatwala, starring Sridevi and Jeetendra in the lead roles.

Arun played a hearing and speech impaired man in Himmatwala, he revealed during an interactive session with his fans on Twitter. He retweeted a still from the film, featuring him and Sridevi.

Incidentally, Arun also worked with Jeetendra in V Madhusudhan Rao’s 1997 film Lav Kush, in which he played Lakshman. Jeetendra and Jaya Prada played Lord Rama and Sita, respectively.

Recently, Ramayan created history to become the most viewed entertainment show in the world, with 77 million people tuning in on April 16. The 1987 series was re-telecast on DD National after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Arun said that it was a ‘very proud moment’ for him and everyone associated with the show when it broke a world record. “Heartfelt thanks to viewers all over the world who have made this possible!” he wrote.

Talking about the scene from Ramayan he found most difficult to perform, Arun said it was “hearing the news of King Dashrath’s death and reacting on that”.

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Earlier, Arun had tweeted that his contribution to the entertainment industry was never acknowledged by either the central government nor any of the state governments. He said that though he was from Uttar Pradesh, he was never felicitated by the state government. He was also never honoured by the Maharashtra government, despite living in Mumbai for the last five decades.

With the rerun of Ramayan receiving a phenomenal response even after three decades, the show will be telecast yet again. Star Plus announced on Twitter that the show will be aired every day at 7.30pm from May 4 onwards.

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