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Pray to play

Divine company Gurmeet Chaudhry and Debina Bannerjee

Born into a family of Ram devotees and worshipping the epic hero since childhood, Gurmeet Chaudhry, who plays the role of Ram on NDTV Imagine’s Ramayan, seems to be living his dream every day on the sets.Talking of the importance of religion and connection with God, Gurmeet expresses his concern over the competitive times we are going through. “In the end we all turn to Him and I believe such serials play a crucial role in rebuilding our sanskar, particularly the values and morals that mould our personality.”

With a two-year theatre experience and having worked in South Indian movies and television serials, Gurmeet says he was thrilled when Sagar Arts approached him for the role.

“The director told me on the first day how to walk, talk, behave and carry myself in a godly manner,” recounts Gurmeet, bowled over by the technically-stronger Ramayan. “If you see how the God of the sea comes out seeking forgiveness from Ram, it’s a visual treat. The animation has brought alive the emotions,” he adds.

Playing the immortal character of Sita, Debina Bannerjee sees a contemporary woman in the role. “Facing the evil strongly without breaking down is considered to be a present-day woman’s ability, but we have learnt it all from the age-old traditions of storytelling and epics. That is why I believe Ramayan has so much to offer to the youth,” says Debina. She feels that the advanced technology has made the epic more appealing than the one telecast 20 years ago.

Calling terrorists who for their selfish interests go killing the innocent the Ravans of today, Debina enjoys her time on the sets with her friends who play Ram and Laxman.

“A relation automatically develops when you spend so much time together,” she relates.

Finding a parallel between the character and her real self, Debina says, “Sita was an ideal woman, daughter, wife and mother. In my current phase of life I am an obedient child of my parents who mean the world to me.”

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