Arun Govil (/ɑːˈrn ˈɡvɪl/ GOH-vil; born 12 January 1952) is an Indian actor and politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is best known for portraying Lord Rama in the Ramayan TV series. He also appeared in films like Paheli (1977), Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979), Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin (1979), Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981), Himmatwala (1983), Dilwaala (1986), and Govinda Govinda (1994). He is currently serving as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha to Meerut Lok Sabha constituency from June 2024.

Arun Govil
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
4 June 2024
Preceded byRajendra Agrawal
ConstituencyMeerut
Personal details
Born (1952-01-12) 12 January 1952 (age 72)
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
Political party Bharatiya Janata Party
SpouseShrilekha Govil
RelationsVijay Govil (brother) Tabassum (sister-in-law)
Children2
ParentChandra Prakash Govil (father)
Alma materAgra University
OccupationActor and politician

Early life

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Arun Govil was born on 12 January 1952 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.[1][2][better source needed] He spent his teenage life in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He got his formal education at an affiliated college of Agra University situated in Shahjahanpur, where he studied science (BSc degree).[3] His father wanted him to become a government servant while Arun wanted to do something for which he would be remembered.[4]

Arun's father, Shri Chandraprakash Govil, was a government officer. Arun is the fourth of six brothers and two sisters. His elder brother Vijay Govil was married to Tabassum, a former child actress and the host of the first Bollywood celebrity talk show on Doordarshan Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan, which continued for 21 years.[5]

Career

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In 1975, He moved to Mumbai to join his brother's business there. After a short while, he found that he no longer enjoyed the work and decided to find something more enjoyable.[4] After doing dramas in college he decided to start acting. Govil got his first break in Indian cinema in the 1977 film Paheli, when he was introduced to Tarachand Barjatya by his sister-in-law Tabassum.[6] He made his Bollywood debut in Prashanta Nanda's Paheli (1977).[6] He shot to stardom after he was cast in Kanak Mishra's Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979) and Satyen Bose's Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin (1979).[7][8] He made his small screen debut in Ramanand Sagar's Vikram Aur Betaal (1985).[9] He was then cast as Lord Rama in Sagar's TV series Ramayan (1986), for which he won the Uptron Award in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category in 1988.[10][4][11] He reprised his role as Rama in Sagar's Luv Kush and Padmalya Telefilms Limited's Jai Veer Hanuman[12][13] Barjatya was really impressed by Govil's performance in the film and he signed him a three-film-deal — Kanak Mishra's Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979), Vijay Kapoor's Raadha Aur Seeta (1979) and Satyen Bose's Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin (1979). Sawan Ko Aane Do became a major success at box office catapulting Govil to stardom.[7] Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin was another success at box office.[8] He featured in Kanak Mishra's Jiyo To Aise Jiyo (1981).

Ramanand Sagar cast Govil as Vikramaditya in his television series Vikram Aur Betaal and Rama in Ramayan.

His role as Rama provided him great exposure and led him to be cast in other roles such as Harishchandra in the TV series Vishwamitra or Buddha in the TV series Buddha. He lent his voice as Rama in Yugo Sako's Indo-Japanese animation film Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992).[14] He also played the role of Laxman in V. Madhusudhana Rao's Lav Kush (1997).[15] In the year 2020, he appeared on The Kapil Sharma Show as a guest along with Dipika Chikhlia, Sunil Lahri and Prem Sagar to promote book on late Ramanand Sagar.

Personal life

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Govil is married to actress Shrilekha.[16][17] They have two children together, Sonika and Amal. Their daughter in law's name is Divya.[17][18]

On March 18, 2021, he joined the Bhartiya Janata Party.[19]

Political career

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Arun Govil was nominated as the Bharatiya janta party candidate for Meerut Lok Sabha constituency from Uttar Pradesh on 25 March 2024 to contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.[20] On 4 June 2024, he was elected to the Lok Sabha, representing Meerut Lok Sabha constituency.[21]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Character Notes
1977 Paheli Balram
1979 Sawan Ko Aane Do Brij Mohan/Birju
Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin Ajay S. Agarwal
Raadha Aur Seeta Shekhar Verma
1980 Judaai Umakant S. Verma
Ganga Dham Mohan
1981 Jiyo To Aise Jiyo Kundan Sharma
Itni Si Baat Anand
Shradhanjali Raju Kumar
Commander Rakesh Kumar
1982 Gumsum Shankar
Ayaash Amal
Sasural Narendra
Jawalaa Dahej Ki
Brij Bhoomi Braj Bhasha dialect film
1983 Kalka Shibu
Lal Chunariya
Himmatwala Govind
Justice Chaudhury Inspector Ramesh Chaudhary
1984 Aasmaan Doctor
Kanoon Meri Mutthi Mein
Ram Tera Desh Prakash
1985 Karm Yudh Rajesh
Do Dilon Ki Dastaan Kamal
Yudh Inspector Bhargav
Baadal Thakur Kiran Singh
Lallu Ram Shankar/Raju
1986 Devar Bhabi in Hindi & Bhojpuri Actresses Shoma Anand (Hindi) & Upaasna Singh(Bhojpuri)
Dilwaala Mohan Kumar
Shatru Salim
Nafrat Vijay
1987 Maashuka Arun Verma
1989 Bidhir Bidhan Bengali film
Pyari Dulhaniya Bhojpuri film
1991 Edu Kondalaswamy Lord Venkateswara Telugu film
1992 Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama Lord Rama voice only
Shiv Mahima Lord Shiva
1993 Muqabla Havaldar Satyaprakash
1994 Govinda Govinda Lord Venkateswara Telugu film
Kanoon Pankaj Vishal's brother
1995 Shanivrat Mahima Bhagwan Indra/
Lord Venkestwara
Hathkadi Arun Chauhan
Buk Bhara Bhalobasha Soumitra Dutt Bengali film
1996 Great Robbery Lord Venkateswara Telugu film
1997 Dhaal Inspector Deodhar
Do Ankhen Barah Hath
Lav Kush Laxmana
Gaon Desh Bade Chaudhary Bhojpuri Film
1999 Upendra Raja Vikramaditya Kannada Film
2006 Babul Pyaare Pandit Hari Singh Bhojpuri Film
2007 Kanhaiyo Rajasthani Film
2023 Sergeant Nikhil's Father on JioCinema
OMG 2 Principal Atal Nath Maheshwari
Hukus Bukus Pandit Radheshayam
2024 695
Article 370 Prime Minister Hindi Film
2026 Ramayana Part 1 (film) Dasharatha Hindi, English

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 Vikram Aur Betaal King Vikramāditya
1987-1988 Ramayan Lord Rama
1989 Luv Kush Lord Rama
1989 Vishwamitra Raja Harishchandra
1992 Phoolwanti Pandit Vankatesh Shastri
1994-95 Mashaal Ajay
1995 Jai Veer Hanuman Ram
1996- 1997 Buddha Buddha
1998-1999 Ashiqui Sushil
1999-2000 Pal Chhin Pratap Singh
2000-2001 Basera
2001 Kaise Kahoon Zaheer Ahmed
2002 Saanjhi Amar
2003 Ehsaas - Kahani Ek Ghar Ki
2003 Gayatri Mahima Rishi Chavan
2006 Woh Hue Na Hamare Ravinder Damania
2023 Jubilee Narain Khanna Amazon Prime Video series

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Arun Govil movies, filmography, biography and songs - Cinestaan.com". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Arun Govil - BollywoodMDB". www.bollywoodmdb.com. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Ahead of contesting Meerut elections, Arun Govil in debt of Rs 14 lakh; A look at Ramayan actor's assets and qualifications". The Times of India. 3 April 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Arun Govil: the first Ram". www.hindustantimes.com. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Nargis, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Suraiya... they all loved me". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Paheli (1977) - Review, Star Cast, News, Photos". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979) - Review, Star Cast, News, Photos". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Saanch Ko Aanch Nahin (1979) - Review, Star Cast, News, Photos". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Vikram Aur Betaal: It was great storytelling with a twist". www.hindustantimes.com. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  10. ^ "I would never regret playing lord Ram: Arun Govil - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Recent news". www.friendsofprasarbharati.org. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Arun Govil in Jai Veer Hanuman". Archived from the original on 8 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Luv Kush, Uttar Ramayan episodes". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (Released) - Review, Star Cast, News, Photos". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Lav Kush (1997) - Review, Star Cast, News, Photos". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Arun Govil with his wife Shrilekha". Photo Gallery. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  17. ^ a b Ekta Chanana (15 October 2021). "Arun Govil real life Sita, Shreelekha". Bollywood Shaadi's.
  18. ^ "Remember Arun Govil Who Played Ram In The First Ever 'Ramayana'? His Daughter Is All Grown Up Now!". PagalParrot. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  19. ^ "Arun Govil of Ramayana fame joins BJP". The Indian Express. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  20. ^ The Hindu (24 March 2024). "Kangana Ranaut, Arun Govil, Maneka Gandhi in BJP fifth list; Varun Gandhi dropped". Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Arun Govil To Rachana Banerjee, Celebrity Winners Of Lok Sabha Elections 2024". ABP news.
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