Arun Govil says he was pressured to play Lakshman to Jeetendra's Ram in Lav Kush against his wishes, recalls film 'didn't even run for one day'

After playing Lord Rama in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan and Uttar Ramayan, Arun Govil played Lakshman in Lav Kush, a 1997 film.

To a generation, Arun Govil is the personification of Lord Rama. The actor played Rama in Ramanand Sagar’s seminal TV show Ramayan, which aired from 1987-88. The show made Arun a household name, forever linking him to the image of Lord Rama. Even as the actor tried to diversify, typecasting brought him back to the mythological fold. The best example of this is the 1997 film Lav Kush, in which he played Lakshman.

Arun Govil recalls playing Lakshman in Lav Kush

Arun Govil (L) and Jeetendra (R) played Lakshmana and Rama respectively in Lav Kush.

In a recent interview, the veteran actor revealed that he never wanted to do the film, as he didn’t feel right about playing Lakshman, having previously done a memorable job as Lord Rama. In fact, Arun believes that ineffective casting was one of the reasons the film flopped.

“In the film Lav Kush, where Jeetendra played Rama, they wanted me as Lakshman. I had told the producer it's not right; don't make me play the character of Lakshman, but they did not listen. They wanted me. I said, ‘Okay, let's do it.’ But then, look what happened. The film didn't even run for one day. Nobody knows about that film,” Arun Govil told Variety India in an interview.

Ramayan turned Dipila Chikhalia, Arun Govil, and Sunil Lehri into overnight stars.

Arun Govil on being called ‘Ramji’

Arun Govil believes that most fans see Lord Rama in him due to Ramayan’s enduring success. “Even today, people see me as Lord Rama. They even call me Ramji. They don't call me Arun Govil. Even today, in my constituency (he is a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, representing the Meerut constituency), all the people address me as Ramji. And they also come with the thought: ‘You are Ramji, you tell us what to do.’ Even in the political field, whoever I meet, they believe, ‘We have come to you, now our work will get done’,” the actor added.

Arun Govil in Ramayana

The veteran actor returned to the world of Valmiki’s Ramayan for a third time this year as he appeared as King Dashrath, Lord Rama’s father, in Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. Ramayana Part One is running in theatres and has minted over ₹600 crore worldwide in just five days.