Shiv Sagar to bring multiverse concept with Kaakbhushundi Ramayan

Shiv Sagar intends to honour his grandfather Ramanand Sagar through Kaakbhushundi Ramayan In the 1980s his grandfather created Ramayan which became a cultural phenomenon To avoid comparisons Shiv chose to tell Lord Ramrsquos story differently After producing Mahima Shani Devi Ki serving as creative producer for Jai Jai Jai Bajrang Bali and working on shows like Kahani Vikram Aur Vetal Ki and Jai Jag Janani Maa Durga Shiv now hopes to uphold his family legacy with this Doordarshan show In a conversation with midday Shiv discusses the sources of the untold stories the use of VFX and AI and why he partnered with DoordarshanEdited excerpts from the interviewWhy is the show called Kaakbhushundi RamayanThere is an original text called Kaakbhushundi Ramayan written centuries ago Kaakbhushundi is a rishi or saint from ancient India who witnessed the Ramayan 14 times across eras and locations He played with baby Ram in Ayodhya until the age of five My grandfatherrsquos Ramanand Sagar Ramayan had a scene where a baby crow steals roti from Ram Lalla making him cry Kaakbhushundi doubts if Ram is truly Vishnu Later he faints wakes up in Ramrsquos lap and sees the universe in Ramrsquos mouth This convinces him of Ramrsquos divinity It is said that Kaakbhushundi eavesdrops on Shiva narrating the story of Ram to Parvati he then narrates it to the council of birds and thatrsquos how the Ramayan spread In our story Kaakbhushundi narrates the Ramayan to Garuda Raviz Thakur as Ravan and Sagaar Kale as KaakbhushundiWhat is the source of all the storiesWe studied over 350 versions of the Ramayan worldwide and handpicked stories that suit Indian audiences We framed the narrative as Kaakbhushundi narrating to Garuda Ram never declares himself as God like Krishna he always says lsquoI am Dashrathputra Ramrsquo a theme we explored We delved into the backstories of characters For example Garuda initially doubts Ramrsquos divinity especially after witnessing Ram and Laxman struggle against Nagpash a serpent noose unleashed by Ravanrsquos sonInspiration came from my grandfatherrsquos Ramayan incorporating elements from Tulsi Ramayan Valmikirsquos version Adhyatmik Ramayan the Bengali Krittivasi Ramayan and the Tamil Kamba Ramayan Given the sensitivity of these epics we ensured meticulous research For instance few know that Surpanakharsquos husband Vidyutjihva was killed by Ravan for marrying against his wishes Surpanakha prays to Nikumbila Devi who advises her to propose to Ram Her actual intent is revenge on RavanShiv SagarHow come these versions were never showcased on shows beforeThere are many versions of the Ramayan written by different authors evolving with time and cultural settings like the Kamba Ramayan in Tamil Nadu With Kaakbhushundi wersquove gone into a bit of a multiverse concept where in every timeline Lord Ramrsquos story plays out a bit differentlyWhy did you pitch this story to DoordarshanWe initially approached Star but the merger slowed things down The entertainment industry is also experiencing a slowdown and TV viewership has declined Doordarshan was developing a docuseries on tracing and documenting all the locations that Ram has been to in India like Hampi We had to go through all sorts of processes with the government to get the approval of the show They agreed because they believed that wersquove got Ramayana in our legacy because of our grandfatherDoes the channel still have the same reachDoordarshan may lack visibility but itrsquos available on platforms like Tata Sky Jio TV and their newly launched app Waves Itrsquos making significant efforts Doordarshan has a huge legacy and so much nostalgia is attached to itWas it easy to get actors to work on boardWe faced some resistance but the actors were convinced after seeing the production quality and our familyrsquos reputation They understood that that change will happen gradually Doordarshan is a sleeping giant the day it wakes up history will be made againTell me more about the multiverse angleWhen Ram leaves Ayodhya as he is done with his avatar on Earth he drops a ring into the Sarayu River Hanuman retrieves it and finds thousands of similar rings from different eras This inspired our multiverse concept Kaakbhushundi transcends time narrates stories from different timelines We go nonlinear back and forth in different universes and narrate different stories of Ram We are trying to link everything so that people have a more comprehensive vision of the RamayanDoesnrsquot this seem inspired by Marvelrsquos LokiInspiration can come from anywhere Ancient Indian stories often align with modern quantum physics Some of the stories have a lot of deeper esoteric and spiritual meanings that people are now discovering I think the younger generation is intensely researching You can carve your own beliefs We are also rediscovering out roots with the use of AI nowHow have you incorporated music into this version of the RamayanWersquove added folk elements from UP and Bihar Surya Raj Kamal composed the music continuing the legacy of his father Raj Kamal who scored for BR Choprarsquos Mahabharat My father Prem Sagar also contributed significantlyDid you feel pressure to uphold your grandfatherrsquos legacyYes His Ramayan is an epic and cannot be recreated He was a master filmmaker and prolific writer He made Ramayan when he was 70 after making more than 50 movies with big stars We went in a different direction or else people would draw comparisons And we didnrsquot want that comparison because we know wersquod fall short He concentrated more on the essence and soul of the show It may have looked tacky back then but it was always high on emotions We preserved its soul while enhancing it with VFX and AIWhat did you have to be careful aboutMy father was our moral compass ensuring authenticity We had a team of inhouse researchers and a research committee from Doordarshan a lot of saints from Ayodhya were also part of it Then we have scholars from Delhi and all over the country Many times we found objectionable content which we flagged off at the writing stage itself For example in the first episode we had Ram and Laxman running up a giantsized Hanumanrsquos arms as warriors Someone then said Ram cannot run like how Laxman does things So we got Hanuman to take Ram on the palm of his hand and placed him on his shoulder There were many things like thatHow have you used AI in the showWe created an AI version of my grandfather using his old photos and his voice The machine actually learned his voice and then started imitating it This tribute felt like receiving his blessings