Lalit Modi recalls how Disney declined to finance Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan; reveals filmmaker couldn’t make an impression
Lalit Modi has recalled how the Walt Disney Company turned down an opportunity to finance Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, claiming that the company’s executives struggled to connect with the filmmaker during a meeting in India. According to Modi, he had tried to persuade Disney to back the television series, but the discussions did not progress as he had hoped.
Speaking on a podcast with The Bharat Inc, Modi discussed the challenges of financing television programming at the time and his efforts to bring large-scale Indian productions to an international platform. He also revealed that both Ramanand Sagar and BR Chopra had approached him seeking financial support for Ramayan and Mahabharat, respectively.
Lalit Modi says Doordarshan did not finance programmes
Recalling the television landscape of that period, Modi said, “Ramanand Sagar and BR Chopra both came to me and wanted me to finance it, and I was ready to finance it. I had an integrated system of marketing, production, worldwide syndication through Disney. But I had a partner in the Walt Disney Company. I told them that we should get into the production business and make a co-production with Ramanand Sagar. They said we have to sell our programming. It will be a conflict of interest. I kept pushing though.”
Disney executives met Ramanand Sagar over Ramayan
Modi said he continued trying to convince Disney’s senior executives to consider the project. He explained, “Disney came with a big entourage and private jets and Ramanand Sagar walked into that meeting in shorts. Everyone used to be suited at that time. Unki English bhi tuti futi thi (He had some issues with his English as well). He listened to what Disney had to say, but he couldn’t understand it fully and vice versa, so he couldn’t make an impression on the Disney guys. There used to be sophisticated pitches back then. They wanted to see a presentation. I could see that the president of Disney was ready to run out of the room.”
Lalit Modi says Disney failed to see Ramayan’s potential
Modi further claimed that Disney’s executives could not fully appreciate the potential of Ramayan. At the time, a mythology-based television production on that scale was unfamiliar to the Indian television industry, according to his account.
He added that his ability to move the project forward was limited because Disney was his business partner and the financing decision involved the company.
Although Disney did not back the project, Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan went on to become one of Indian television’s most widely recognised mythological series. Its popularity grew further during its 2020 rerun on Doordarshan, when audiences revisited the show during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Also Read: Lalit Modi DENIES Bigg Boss 20 participation, calls reports “fake news” and issues legal notice
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection,New Movies Release, Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood News Today & upcoming movies 2024 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.