"I had expected that after all these years since the first Ramayana series produced by Ramanand Sagar, was screened on Doordarshan, there would be major improvement in production values, realistic-looking sets, less garish costumes, believable dialogues, competent acting by the actor playing my character, state-of-the-art special effects and so on. But on viewing the first few episodes I've to say this - I'm terribly, terribly disappointed"
"Just what was Prem thinking when he decided to make the new series as a frame-by-frame copy of the earlier series directed by his dad? What's the point of it all? They could have just rerun the earlier series instead of taking all the trouble to remake a brand, new series."
NDTV Imagine's unimaginative depiction of Ramayana
"I feel like such a failure as one of India's foremost deities. If it wasn't enough that I completely failed in preventing a bunch of lunatics from making so much hue and cry over my place of birth, now I've to live with the embarrassment of being the star of such a pathetic, shoddy remake of an equally pathetic, shoddy television series based on my life and times. What's the use of being such a mighty deity worshiped by hundreds of millions, if I don't even have the power to put an end to such cheapjack and tawdry television series depicting my life?" Lord Rama said in dismay
"Do I even deserve to be regarded as a divine deity, if I can't even control or manage the minds of television bosses and small-time telly directors and influence them to produce a world-class TV series made with best production standards, as befitting such a powerful divine entity as me? Come to think of it, in the present era television channel bosses and penny-and-paisa directors have more power to control the minds of millions than an actual divine lord such as me. I just get worshiped in temples, used & abused to garner votes by petty politicians and written, talked & debated by clueless millions, while these television biggies are the ones who get to decide how the favorite gods of the masses would look, talk, walk, whine like"
"I had originally planned my comeback to planet earth as Lord Kalki (of course with some additional soul-input from my oversoul - Lord Vishnu) to fight and defeat the evil forces ruling the earth and reestablish golden age of truth and dharma on earth. But frankly speaking, what chance on earth, I've to beat powerful cabals controlling earth, when I lack even the ability to remote-influence directors of trashy television serials? I think I'll be satisfied just coming back in this world as a director of the caliber of Ridley Scott or Peter Jackson. As and when I reincarnate back on earth, I will make a grand 'Ramayana' movie which I hope will turn out to be the greatest Indian movie ever made."
"No more gaudy, cardboard sets to depict my ayodhya residence of yore, no more wimpy characters bowing and scrapping all the time and using a funny lingo made up for comical words like 'matashri', 'pitashri' and 'bhatashri'; no more deafeningly loud music score and endless recitation of boring bhajans extolling my virtues, no more colorful, tacky costumes, no more cheesy plastic bows-and-arrows masquerading as ancient missiles flying in the air like rudderless paper-planes . I'm tired of it all".
"My version of Ramayana will be a brilliant, classy, hollywood-standard movie using the latest special effects and made with the best actors around. It will have all the elements that went into making of blockbuster mythological movies like "Lord of the Ring" trilogy or epic semi-historical mega-hits like 'Braveheart' or 'Gladiator'. It will be a grand, magnificent spectacle that will draw billions all over the world and will fetch me at least a dozen academy nominations"
"Yes, dear devotees, I'll be back! Back as producer and director of India's first genuine crossover movie."
