New Delhi: Actor Arun Govil came close to becoming a cult hero 35 years ago when he portrayed Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's TV drama Ramayan. The actor keeps getting praise from viewers for his performance. Recently, a video of a lady sobbing at his feet started circulating online. She was seen folding her hands in front of him, falling to her knees, and began praying for the actor.
Arun Govil was seen signaling for the woman's husband, who had arrived on the scene, to intervene. It was later seen that he blessed the lady by placing a yellow dupatta over her neck.
Some people were outraged when Arun Govil allowed a female fan to kneel at his feet, while others were shocked that the fan believed she was genuinely falling at Lord Rama's feet and receiving blessings from him.
Arun Govil, who was the subject of online trolling in the past few days, has spoken out to explain his side of the situation. The actor told Hindustan Times, “It was 6.30 in the morning. This woman saw me at the airport and screamed ‘Ram!’ She then caught my leg and literally rubbed her forehead on my shoe! I didn’t know what to do at that point, I couldn’t even bend to pick her up. When she calmed down a little, I tried to make her stand. She told me her husband is in the ICU. She had got a yellow dupatta, which she wanted to wrap around me. I told her, ‘Take this dupatta and make your husband wear it’.”
He had earlier told IANS, "For the last 14 years, I have not done anything, except maybe make a few special appearances. I had started my career as a Hindi film hero and post Ramayan, when I wanted to return to Bollywood, producers said, ‘Your image as Ram is so strong we cannot cast you as anyone else or give you a supporting role.
Also, according to Arun Govil, this isn't the first time he's been in a similar circumstance. Govil revealed that foot-touching was frowned upon in his society's cultural norms.