VIKRAM MASTAL WHO PLAYED LORD HANUMAN SUFFERED BURNS ON HIS BACK WHILE SHOOTING THE LANKA DAHAN SEQUENCE

Jyothi Venkatesh

In 2008, Anand Sagar created Ramayan starring Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee as the lead pair of lord Ram and goddess Sita. Years later, Ramayan is still receiving a whole lot of love while being aired on Dangal channel. Actor Vikram Mastal who played the role of Hanuman in Anand Sagar’s Ramayan became a household name as Lord Hanuman.Lanka Dahan was one of the most important sequences in Ramayan. The sequence required a lot of planning and a great deal of thought from the makers. They decided not to use graphics to shoot the scene and personally checked for all safety precautions before putting Hanuman’s tail on fire, but shooting with real flames always has its own challenges as well as risks.

While shooting the scene, Vikram Mastal who played lord Hanuman suffered burns on his back. Talking about the incident, he says, “I had practiced for hours on an empty stomach for the Lanka Dahan scene. I also did not want a body double to perform the stunt. The faux tail was made up of cloth which was 100 feet long and it was dipped in oil just before starting the scene. When the shot was ready, the flames went up so high that I ended up with burns on my back.”All said and done, Lanka Dahan was one of the most challenging and risky scenes of Ramayan.

Lanka Dahan sequences is when Lord Hanuman gets captured by Ravan's army and his tail is set on fire, but he escapes and leaps from roof to roof, setting fire to Ravan's citadel and makes the giant leap back from the island to the Indian Ocean.Anand Sagar’s Ramayan is entertaining million viewers once again. Ramayan, the epic tale of promises and ideologies is aired every evening at 7.30pm and repeat telecast at 9.30 am the following day only on Dangal channel.