Vikram Aur Betaal (Old Doordarshan TV Show)
Well, speaking of the different TV shows that were aired in the 1980s, how can we just miss out Vikram aur Betaal? This was one of the most epic TV shows that not only grabbed the attention of kids and toddlers, but it was successful in bringing immense adult individuals to watch this show. In simple terms, this was one of the major hits that captured the entire nation. Every single individual idolized the character of Vikramditya or aka Vikram. The show had 25 stories in 25 episodes. It was also known as the Betaal Pachhisi, because 25 in Hindi meant Pachhis.
| Cast | Character name |
| Arun Govil | Vikramaditya |
| Sajjan | Betaal |
| Mulraj rajda | The King |
| Vijay Arora | Chandrasen |
| Ramesh bhatkar | Apurva |
| Rajni bala | Bhagwati |
| Satish kaul | Madhusudhan |
| Liliput | The gambler |
Moving on to the story
While we move on to the story, it was really unique concept. At the beginning of the story, the King Vikramditya meets a mendicant who presents the King with a fruit on each visit. The fruits are later discovered to be the orbs of ruby. When this was discovered, the king decides to pay him a visit which was arranged under a banyan tree at a cremation ground beyond the city. At the meeting, he mendicant requests Vikram to bring a corpse from another tree with which the mendicant will have occult power. This corpse was known as Betaal.
Vikram controlled Betaal after he left Yogi’s place and on the way back to graveyard, Betaal told Vikram that he is going to tell him stories to help him pas the time. But this came up with a catch. Every time Betaal told a story to Vikram, he will have to listen very attentively and if Vikram uttered a single word, Betaal will go out of control and return back to the graveyard tree. And in this way there continues the 25 episodes that convey 25 stories, which is called Betaal Pachhisi.
The relation with real life of our society
The story of Vikram aur Betaal conveys the three sections or rather aspect of human society. The person Vikram represents the working section of the society who works for the betterment of human race. He portrays bravery and compassion for human race with knowledge and selflessness. The second section is “Betaal”, which represents the fearless section of the society. These are powerful people, good by heart and deed, but they are not accepted by the society because of their background. And sometimes they just don’t want to be a part of the society because of their bad experiences. And finally the third section who are the opportunists, who take the advantage of both for ruling the world. And this is what today’s world is all about.
Every story had a moral
With such a beautiful and real revelation of a storyline, it was bound to connect with almost everyone of India, and yes, it did so. The 25 stories in Vikram aur Betaal TV show are about the human behavior. At the same time it offers a glimpse about the mystery of life. The stories introduce you with the sense of bravery, justice, compassion, respect. And finally it teaches you about the principles of karma. This is one of the most thoughtful and entertaining TV series of India which was focused on teaching the kids about the lessons of life. Every story ended up with a moral in each of the episodes which makes the kids of even today, known about the hard reality of life. According to the directors and scriptwriters of the show, it was a really difficult task for making it appealing for the kids.
From the directors notebook
A major credit needs to be given to the scriptwriter who made the translation of the original stories and made them more relevant. The stories were built up in a much more intriguing way than they are actually in the books, and the combination of interesting dialogues made it just perfect. This was what gripped the audience and made them keep guessing about the ending of each story. The TV serial was made on a really tight budget which is quite evident from the make ups and screenplay. A few lakh were only spent per episode, and because of low budget, it had to be shot on a single bungalow. This is why everything had to be made physically, no computer effects, and visuals were there. According to the director, he was really lucky to have such talented actors on set who were prepared to shoot 18 scenes in a single day.
A tabular overview about the details of TV show Vikram aur Betaal
| SL NO | Things to know | Details |
| 1. | Genre | Mythology |
| 2. | Created by | Sagar Arts Limited |
| 3. | Language | Hindi |
| 4. | No of seasons | 1 |
| 5. | No of episodes | 25 |
| 6. | Producers | Ramanand Sagar |
| 7. | Run time | 52 minutes |
| 8. | Original network | DD national |
| 9. | Original release date | 1985 |
| 10. | Related Shows | Betaal Pachhisi |
| 11. | Directed by | Prem Sagar |
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