Prem Sagar reveals paan-shop owner played Sushen Vaidya in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan: ‘People thought they will be cured if they ate paan…’

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In an interview with Lehren Retro, Prem Sagar recalled how the team of the epic TV show had hit a roadblock when they could not cast an actor for Sugriv. The actor had to match Dara Singh, who played Hanuman, which was proving to be an impossible task for them. The role was eventually played by actor Shyamsundar Kalani.

“We searched a lot, in Shivaji Park, Worli, and went to akhadas, but no luck. We had to shoot immediately because every week an episode had to go. We couldn’t say, ‘Oh we couldn’t find Sugriv.’ One day at around 2-3 AM, we were filming a sequence in a jungle. We all were tired by the end of it and my father said ‘pack up’, so all the lights were off. Suddenly, we saw from the horizon, a giant stood up. We were so frightened.

“We thought if that was a ghost or some devata. 50-100 people were just watching it when it started running towards us. It was a moment to remember. When he was some 10 feet away from my father, he jumped and fell on his feet, which he held. At the same time, the lightmen switched on the lights. He was a big-built human being. My father asked him who he was and the man replied, ‘I am Sugriv! I am a wrestler from Indore, I used to watch Ramayan and wanted to play him. So I came here dressed like him.’ This was a miracle.”

 

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Prem Sagar said when they asked if he could say dialogues, he said in akhadas they would usually talk rough. “So, we thought we would let him speak like that, we gave him that mask of Sugriv and dubbed all his dialogues!”

He also recalled an amusing incident involving the character Sushen Vaidya, which was played by actor Ramesh Chaurasia. “He was a paan-walah in Indore. After the show, his paan-shop became a legend. People thought if they ate pan from his shop, they would be cured!” Sushen Vaidya was the Raj Vaidya of Ravana and was the one who told Lord Ram the cure for Lakshman when he was injured.

The lead actors of Ramayan – Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri – have been invited to Ayodhya to be part of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, which will be held on Monday.