Arun Govil, the veteran actor who played Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s popular Hindi TV show Ramayan, recalled how he came to be part of the show. He said he had been acting with Rajshri Pictures and Sagar saheb since 1977, and when he heard they were making Ramayan he approached them to play Lord Ram. At that time, acting in mythology was not a popular thing and his friends and family were against it, but he was determined to portray Lord Ram. He was initially rejected at the audition, and offered the roles of Bharat and Lakshman instead, but he refused and was eventually selected for the part. Govil said that playing Lord Ram had a big impact on him, as it taught him how to live life.