Sunil Lahri, original 'Ramayan's Lakshman, shares his thoughts on 'Adipurush'

Sunil Lahri, who shot to nationwide acclaim for his portrayal of Lakshman in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan in the late 1980s, has opened up about Om Raut's upcoming mythological drama Adipurush. Notably, Adipurush is a retelling of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Lahri shared what he thought of the cast, especially Sunny Singh, who is essaying the role of Lakshman in the upcoming film.

Lahri told IANS, "At this stage, it is very difficult to say anything because there is hardly anything shown of Lakshman's character...but I am sure Sunny is a good actor and he must have done justice to the role since he also has previous references of the character." "I wish great success to Adipurush as well as Sunny Singh and rest of the cast."

Reminiscing about the time he spent on Ramayan, Lahri added, "When I was shooting for Ramayan, I didn't have any reference from the past for the character of Laxman, and whatever little I have managed to do, it is because of the guidance of Sagar Saab (Ramanand Sagar)." "The credit goes to him and the writers of the television serial," he further said.

Ramayan was initially telecast on Doordarshan between 1987-88 (78 episodes) and was termed a nationwide phenomenon, with people of all regions and religions gathering to see the story of Lord Rama and his heroic battle for righteousness. Arun Govil starred as Ram, while Deepika Chikhalia played Sita. Dara Singh (Hanuman), Arvind Trivedi (Raavan), and Sanjay Jog (Bharat) were also members of the primary cast.

Adipurush, starring Prabhas (Ram), Kriti Sanon (Sita), and Saif Ali Khan (Ravana), is set to greet viewers on June 16 in both 2D and 3D formats. The epic drama is reportedly mounted on a mammoth Rs. 500cr budget, owing to its VFX/CGI costs. It was earlier slated to arrive on January 12 but was pushed after public backlash over its teaser.