Old is gold: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu after ‘Ramayan’ re-run creates world record

New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu is “delighted” to know that re-run of Ramanand Sagar’s epic mythological show 'Ramayan' has created history after it became the world's most-watched show. In a series of tweets, the Vice President said, “Delighted to know the popular epic  Ramayan, re-telecasted by DD National has recently set  a world record as the most viewed entertainment program.”

‘Ramayan’ became the world's most-watched show on April 16 with 7.7 crore viewers, DD India posted on its official Twitter handle last week. The show is being telecast again since March 28 on public demand amid the coronavirus lockdown. In fact, when it was telecast for the first time, the serial had broken all records of popularity, and 30 years later, it has repeated its history again.

Apart from ‘Ramayan’ other top-rated show of the 80s and 90s – such as ‘Mahabharat’, ‘Circus’, ‘Shri Krishna’, ‘Shaktimaan’ – are also being aired on Doordarshan.

In his next tweet, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu lauded Doordarshan’s efforts of re-airing the shows.

“My appreciation to Doordarshan for telecasting popular programs of 80s especially Indian epics. It will help in acquainting the younger generation with our glorious past and rich cultural heritage,” he said.

The Vice President further added a still of ‘Ramayan’ in his tweet and concluded by saying “Old is gold.”

My appreciation to Doordarshan for telecasting popular programs of 80s especially Indian epics. It will help in acquainting the younger generation with our glorious past and rich cultural heritage. #Ramayana @DDNational — Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) May 4, 2020

Old is Gold! #Ramayana pic.twitter.com/2mjY7AdffQ — Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) May 4, 2020

Ramanand Sagar had made a total of 78 episodes of ‘Ramayan’ based on Valmiki's Ramayana and Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas.

For the first time in the country, the serial was originally broadcast from January 25, 1987, to July 31, 1988. It aired every Sunday at 9.30 am. From 1987 to 1988, 'Ramayan' became the most-watched serial in the world. Till June 2003, it remained recorded in the Limca Book of Records as "the most-watched mythological serial in the world".

(With IANS inputs)