Doordarshan starts 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharat' reruns from today; details here
What's the story
National broadcaster Doordarshan has started airing reruns of the iconic 80s shows Ramayana and Mahabharat.
Amid a 21-day nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, there was a huge demand to bring back Ramayana, directed by Ramanand Sagar, and Mahabharat, directed by BR Chopra, on television.
Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati announced that other 80s and 90s shows will also make a comeback.
Details
'Ramayana' telecast on Doordarshan; 'Mahabharat' on DD Bharati: I&B Minister
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that Ramayana reruns will be telecast at 9 am and 9 pm on Doordarshan while Mahabharat will be telecast at 12 pm and 7 pm on DD Bharati.
"One (Ramayana) episode will air in the morning from 9 am-10 am, and another episode in the evening 9 pm-10 pm," he said. Mahabharat will follow the same pattern.
Twitter Post
Javadekar announced telecast timings this morning
Please tune in to @DDNational at 9 am 9 pm to watch 'Ramayan' and @DDBharati at 12 noon and 7 pm to watch 'Mahabharat' today and everyday.#StayHomeStaySafe #IndiaFightsCorona@narendramodi @PIB_India @DDNewslive @DDNewsHindi
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) March 28, 2020
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'DD officers worked day and night to make this happen'
Thanking Javadekar and the Sagar family, Vempati said, "A dedicated team of DD officers worked through the day yesterday and through the night to make this happen even as they stayed away from home and their families."
He added, "Kudos to the entire team who worked on a war footing in response to immense demand from the viewers to watch the epics."
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Stay tuned for more iconic content, says Vempati
In another tweet, the Prasar Bharati CEO said, "Stay tuned for more iconic content to come back on Doordarshan over the next few days as you relive the nostalgia while we observe the lockdown, staying home to save lives."
Shows
Both 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharat' originally aired in late-80s
Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana—touted as the best television iteration of the Hindu epic—originally aired from 1987-1988. The series featured Arun Govil as Lord Ram and Deepika Chikhaliya as Sita.
Meanwhile, BR Chopra's Mahabharat originally aired from 1988-1990. It starred Nitish Bharadwaj, Mukesh Khanna, Gajendra Chauhan, et al.
Due to the lockdown, in the past few days, social media had flooded with demands asking for reruns.
Lockdown
Nationwide lockdown will last until April 14
To recall, on March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease.
The disease has infected 900+ people in India.
The lockdown came into effect on March 25 and will last until April 14.
However, it remains to be seen whether the lockdown will be extended as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise.