Ayodhya ki Ramleela is set to feature three BJP parliamentarians as actors in key roles this time. While Azamgarh MP Dinesh Lal Yadav, the Bhojpuri actor-singer popularly known as “Nirahua”, will take up the role of Laxman, Ravi Kishan, the Gorakhpur MP and Bhojpuri actor, will essay Kewat and Manoj Tiwari, the MP from North East Delhi, will play Parashuram. The veterans of Delhi’s Ramleela stage, Tiwari and Kishan, had played Angad and Bharat, respectively, in Ayodhya ki Ramleela in 2020 too. Ayodhya ki Ramleela was rolled out soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in August 2020. Since then, it has been held every year at an Ayodhya ground on the banks of the Sarayu river, which is less than two kms from the site where the Ram temple is coming up. Earlier, it used to be just live-streamed, on YouTube and Facebook, besides being telecast live on the state-run Doordarshan, even as it reportedly registered a 16 crore audience in 2020 and 22 crore in 2021. This time however, Ayodhya ki Ramleela — to be held between September 26 and October 5 from 7 pm to 10 pm daily — will be staged before a live audience in addition to being telecast live by Doordarshan and streamed on other social media platforms every evening. The organisers are making arrangements for an audience of 11,000 people at the show venue every day, which will be telecast live on Doordarshan. “There are lots of challenges because over the last two years we have been holding this Ramleela without sponsorship. Since there were no crowds due to the pandemic, sponsors also stayed away,” says Subhash Malik, the Ayodhya ki Ramlila’s creative director and Meri Maa Foundation’s founder. The previous annual budget for the show was around Rs 2 crore, with Malik expecting it to cross Rs 3 crore this time. “We raise 20 per cent of the amount from friends and I fund the remaining amount,” he adds. The organisers are also making preparations to ensure that Ayodhya ki Ramleela, which is already among the country’s biggest Ramleelas, is made into a “grander show” with a 120 ft stage, LED and digital technology, which would create 3D effects of caves, palaces, and fountains as part of the narrative. While Manoj Tiwari and Nirahua will appear together in Ayodhya ki Ramleela show on September 28, Ravi Kishan will play his part on September 29 evening. The Ramleela has also roped in star power in the form of Rahul Bhuchar as Ram, Diksha Raina as Sita and Shahbaz Khan as Ravan. Bindu Dara Singh reprises his role as Hanuman, which he has essayed on stage and screen before, Girija Shankar makes his Ramleela debut by playing King Dasarath, the father of Ram and Laxman, while Gajendra Chauhan, the former chairman of the FTII, Pune, will play King Janak, the father of Sita, and Raza Murad plays Vshwamitra. Popular actor Gufi Paintal will play Narad while Bhagyashree takes up the role of Sabari. “We have been watching the Ram temple take shape in Ayodhya. The committee members of Ayodhya ki Ramleela always go for a darshan of Ramlalla every morning when we are in Ayodhya. We get a certain energy to continue our work,” says Malik, adding that the Ramleela with be without stalls or a mela “because our objective is that large numbers of people watch the performances”. Ramleela is returning with renewed vigour at other places as well, especially in Delhi which hosts more than 650 Ramleelas every year. The Delhi Luv Kush Ramleela Committee, which draws lakhs of people to Red Fort, is planning a grand show, as well as additional events such as a medical camp on September 17, the birthday of PM Modi. “We will distribute spectacles, wheelchairs, crutches and hearing aids, among others, free to those who need it, while volunteers will take them to hospital and back,” says Arjun Kumar, the Delhi Luv Kush Ramleela Committee president. Kumar also heads the Shree Ramleela Mahasangh, the umbrella organisation of Delhi’s major Ramleelas. The Luv Kush Ramleela will unveil a 180 ft stage on which a giant model of Ayodhya’s Ram temple is being set up. “We have film stars, stunt artistes, dance troupes, make-up and costume designers, among others, coming from Bollywood. There is no financial burden as Ramleela is a work of God,” says Kumar. “Everybody needs work and is enthusiastic about the chance to stage the Ramleela in a grand way again after the pandemic,” he adds. The Luv Kush Ramleela also features BJP MPs and Union ministers, such as Ashwini Choubey, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Arjun Ram Meghwal, in its star cast. One of the biggest Ramleela organisers in east Delhi is Shri Balaji Ramleela Committee, which was forced to hold only a one-day Dusshera Mahotsav in 2020 and pack its Ramleela shows in just three days in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic. “This time we have a full 10-day plan marked with artistes and mela and celebrations,” says Manish Gupta of the committee.
