Indian television of the 80s is a chapter of entertainment, where despite less resources and limited technology, the strength of the stories and the strong acting of the actors created history. The serials broadcast on Doordarshan at that time still leave an indelible impression in the minds of people. That was an era when television shows were not just a source of entertainment but an excuse for the entire family to get together. In this period, a show came which presented such a unique blend of suspense, fantasy and thrill. Today we will introduce you to one such show, which was made by ‘Ramayana’-‘Mahabharata’ director Ramanand Sagar, but this show was completely different.
Ramanand Sagar’s vision and brilliant actors
The vision behind this historic show was that of legendary producer Ramanand Sagar, while the direction of the show was handled by his son Prem Sagar. This show was also special because it featured an army of veteran artists who later made their mark in every household through epics like ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’. We are talking about the classic serial ‘Vikram Aur Betal’ which was aired in the year 1985. In this show, stars like Arun Govil, Sunil Lahiri, Deepika Chikhalia and Arvind Trivedi proved their talent in different stories. The show is known not only for its grandeur, but also for its unique casting.
The journey of King Vikramaditya and the secrets of Betal
The structure of ‘Vikram Aur Betal’ based on Indian folklore was very interesting. Each story of this serial, which had a total of 26 episodes, revolved around the courage of King Vikramaditya and the tricky questions of Betal. That scary look of Betal, the style of hanging on his back and that famous condition ‘Agar tu bola to main chala’, are still fresh in the minds of the viewers of that era. While Betal’s getup created a horror movie-like thrill for the children, the righteous answer given by Raja at the end of each episode left a big moral message for the society.
Great ratings and presence in the digital age
The popularity of this show, which started 41 years ago, can be gauged from the fact that even today it has got an excellent rating of 8.3 on IMDb. It not only broke all the TRP records during that period, but it remained the most popular fantasy-horror drama till the 90s. Despite the lack of technology, the way Betal’s disappearance and flying scenes were filmed was quite effective for that time.
This classic show is still relevant today
Even though there is a glut of content on OTT platforms today, the simplicity and depth of stories like ‘Vikram Aur Betal’ still attract the audience. The good thing is that this classic show has not been lost even in today’s digital age. Viewers can watch this timeless gem on Prasar Bharati’s official channel on YouTube as well as OTT platforms like MX Player and Jio Cinema.
Also read: The beauty who stole the show with her beauty, her luck changed after competing with Aishwarya Rai, then turned away from glamour, left everything and became a Buddhist monk.
25 year old TV show, which created history with 1000 episodes, made people cry, people were immersed in grief for a week
