List of movies and shows based on 'Ramayana' released before Adipurush

New Delhi: The lavish multilingual spectacle "Adipurush", starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Sunny Singh and Saif Ali Khan, which hit the screens on Friday, is only the latest iteration of the Ramayana. Here are some other retellings of the mythological epic - animated, small screen and big - down the ages.

Ram Rajya (1943)

The black and white feature film from Vijay Bhatt was one of the early attempts at adapting the Ramayana. The film, which became a hit, featured Prem Adib as Ram and Shobhna Samarth as Sita. According to the Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation, "Ram Rajya" was one of the few films Mahatma Gandhi watched.

Sampoorna Ramayana (1961)

Directed by Babubhai Mistry, the film starred Mahipal and Anita Guha. The film, bankrolled by Basant Pictures, was a massive hit at the box office and enjoyed a silver jubilee run.

Ramayan (1987 TV series)

Ramanand Sagar created, wrote and directed the TV series which aired on DD National between 1987 and 1988. The show continues to hold strong nostalgic value, unmatched by any other version of the epic tale.

To a generation of Indians, actor Arun Govil still serves as the face of Lord Ram and Dipika Chikhlia as Goddess Sita. The show had a rerun on DD National in 2020 after a nationwide lockdown was announced in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. It set a world record by becoming the highest viewed entertainment programme globally, recording a viewership of 7.7 crore on April 16, 2020.

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992)

Co-produced by Japan and India, the anime movie was directed by Yugo Sako. Late Indian animator Ram Mohan was credited as a co-director. The film was released in English and later dubbed in Hindi with Govil voicing Ram and Amrish Puri Ravana. Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha served as narrator. Though the movie was banned during the Babri Masjid riots, it became a favourite of 1990s generation children who watched reruns on TV channels. "LAV KUSH" (1997): The film was set after Ram's victory over Ravana. It featured veteran actor Jeetendra as Ram, Jaya Prada as Sita while Dara Singh reprised his role of Hanuman.

Ramayan (2008 TV show)

The 300-episode TV show came more than 20 years after Ramanand Sagar's adaptation. It attracted high viewership but couldn't match the success of the original. Its lead stars Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee, who played Ram and Sita, became household names.