Dr. RAMANAND SAGAR BOOK LAUNCH

Ali Peter John

It is almost 40 years, since Dr. Ramanand Sagar was blessed by all the divine powers to make the epic serial, “Ramayan”, which is still fresh in the minds of generations of people of all castes, creeds and communities, even though it was basically the story of the triumph of Lord Ram over Ravan, all good over evil.

And now, Prem Sagar, the son of Dr. Ramanand Sagar and Prem’s son, Shiv Sagar have made sure that the story of the “modern day Tulsidass” and how he made the “Ramayan” in the electronic era a reality in a book with over the miraculous and almost unbelievable life of Dr. Sagar.

Prem Sagar

The highlight of the book release was an hour-long film made by Shiv Sagar on the life and achievements of Dr. Sagar. As a very close witness to the saga of the Sagars and having the rare opportunities of listening to stories told to me by Dr. Sagar himself, I must commend the young and talented Shiv Sagar for recreating the magic and miracles worked by his grandfather.

The book has been written by Prem who is basically a trained cinematographer and a marketing genius who could sell “Ramayan” all over the world, some say even in communist countries. It will be remembered that the “Ramayan” was a craze even in countries like Pakistan and other Muslim countries of the world where like in India life came to a standstill whenever the “Ramayan” was telecast. I have not yet read the book, but knowing Prem and his very close bond with his father who he called “Papaji” who shared some of his most close stories which must have formed a book full of truths and nothing but the truth and the book must be having some of the best photographs which could tell better stories than words to tell.

Dipika Topiwala, Prem Sagar and Arun Govil

Last evening, was a very emotional walk down memory lane for me because I had started my film journey with the Sagars. Last evening, I saw the sons of Dr. Sagar growing mature with age and I also saw some of them missing. It was a delight to go back to the past with Dr. Sagar’s sons, Shanti and Anand and their children who I had seen as babies and who were now parents of their own babies themselves. I was specially moved when I saw Prem’s daughters, Shabnam who is a noted interior designer now and Ganga who is one of the best-known painters in the country today. I had held them in my arms once and I am not saying this to take pride in, but only to convince myself about how old I had grown.

There were many other men who were a part of my growing up and I realised how age doesn’t spare anyone when it comes to playing its own games with stupid man who comes to know the truth about time only when his time comes to an end.

Prem Sagar with cast and crew of Ramayan at launch of An Epic of Life- Ramanand Sagar

The interesting thing about the evening was the presence of the actors, Arun Govil who had played Ram and become immortal and Deepika Topiwala who had played Sita and who is still the image of Sita in the minds of millions. There were other actors like Sunil Lahri, Sulakshana Khatri and Dara Singh who played Lord Hanuman was aptly represented by his son, Vindu Dara Singh…

The way some people spoke about Dr. Sagar, the way they described their experiences with Dr. Sagar, the way they expressed their feelings for him made him seem more than a mortal and more like some divine force with a glorious halo all around him. The evening was so rich, saintly and solemn that even I a staunch non-believer was tempted to shout out “Jai Shri Ram”. That was the power of Dr. Sagar, which had lasted for so many years and will now last for many more years, all because of the worthy effort of the “Pitra Rin” offered as a homage of a grateful son and grandson.

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