REVIEW: RAMYUG

Producers- Niharika Kotwal and Ravina Kohli

Director- Kunal Kohli

Star Cast- Diganth Manchale,Akkshay Dogra,Aishwarya Ojha, Kabir Duhan Singh, Vivan Bhathena, Navadep Pallapolu, Shishir Sharma, Anup Sonii, Shweta Gulati, Tisca Chopra, Ravi Jhankal, Dalip Tahil etc

Platform-, MX Original Series

Genre- Mythological

Rating- ***1/2 (Three and a half stars)

Stunning Visuals and Powerful Content!

Jyothi Venkatesh

So what if you have already watched mythological films or TV serials on Ram and Sita ad nauseam, do not miss Ramyug the latest visual interpretation of this time-honored text that uses modern technology in a never seen before manner to narrate the epic.

This cute and endearing magnum opus narrates the tale of love, devotion, sacrifice & revenge - set against a backdrop of stunning visuals, grandeur, scale, and powerful dialogues and soothing and lilting music score by Sajid-Wajid that bring alive this primordial era.

To put it in a nutshell, the series which sets out to use modern technology in a never-before-used manner, celebrates the life and journey of Rama, prince of Ayodhya and his righteous rule (Ram-Raj) that inaugurated a golden age for all mankind.

What this series does by way of endearing itself to you is that though you know each and every character in Ramayana from the back of your palm, instead if dragging the series, Kunal Kohli fast forwards it and you get to see Ramayan in full in just eight episodes of around 35 minutes each, albeit not at all in a chronological order.

As far as performances go, all I can say is that Diganth Manchale makes you forget that you have earlier watched either Arun Govil if you belonged to the late 80’s or Gurmeet Choudhary in the turn of the 2010 in Ramayan churned out by the Sagars then.

While Akkshay Dogra is good as the obedient younger brother Lakshman, it is Kabir Duhan Singh who plays the role of Raavan who steals the show with his macho image and menacing gestures.

While Vivan Bhathena lives his role as Lord Hanuman effortlessly lending not only a sense of dignity to the role but also a divine fervor.

Aishwarya Ojha stands out by projecting courage even in the face of adversity and ekes out her own different space as Sita in this series and leaves an impact of her own, which is quite in contrast with that of Dipika Chikhlia in Ramamanad Sagar’s Ramayan.

What’s more, unlike the earlier Sitas, Kunal Kohli’s Aishwarya in Ramyug is not servile to Ram but holds her own esteem properly and is a perfect foil to the woman power of the 21st century.

Tisca Chopra scores in the familiar role of Kaikeyi and leaves her own footprint. Dalip Tahil is good and creates an impact with his presence in the series more than what Anup Soni is able to do in the role of Parshuram whereas Shweta Gulati is just about average as Manthra who tries to poison the mind of Kaikeyi against Ram.

It is a treat to listen to Amitabh Bachchan’s vocal score of Hanuman stotra whenever Hanuman hovers around you in the series

To sum up, I’d like to emphasize the fact that the new series on MXPlayer shows the golden age of all mankind in a simple watchable manner and also extorts you to go to the top as far as moral values and ethics are concerned. You must certainly binge watch this series!