Arun Govil, known for portraying Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, had a full-circle moment as he returned as King Dashrath in Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming two-part film. In Ramayana, the actor plays the father of Lord Ram, portrayed by Ranbir Kapoor. In a recent interaction, he opened up about how he did not feel like playing King Dashrath initially, but Nitesh Tiwari was adamant.
Arun Govil told Variety India, "Would you believe it, I didn't want to do it at all. Frankly speaking, I didn't feel the need for it when it was offered to me. But then, these people were so insistent. Nitesh Tiwari was so adamant."
He added, "No, sir, you have to do it." It took me almost three months to say yes. They were after me. It came to such a situation that they started saying that it was very easy to sign Yash and Ranbir. But it was very difficult to sign Dashrath. So, finally, I said yes."
Arun Govil has the unique distinction of having played Lord Ram, Lakshman and Dashrath. He essayed the character of Lakshman in the 1997 film Lav Kush.
On The Difficulty Of Playing Dashrath
Furthermore, Arun Govil said that playing Dashrath wasn't difficult, as he had that character embedded in his mind ever since he played Lord Ram.
"Even at the time of Ram, Dashrath was comprehensible to me. To understand Ram's emotions, Dashrath's emotions were there in front of me. Besides being the father of a 46-year-old son in real life, the paternal emotions came naturally to me," added the actor.
As for his upcoming projects, Arun Govil said he hasn't said yes to anything after Ramayana, as he does not feel like doing anything "routine".
About The Film
Mounted on a budget of Rs 4,000 crore, Ramayana is touted to be the most ambitious film Indian cinema has ever seen. The film was widely promoted across the globe. On October 27, the makers held a special screening in Los Angeles.
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