Did you know Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston voiced Lord Rama in Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama?

Adipurush, starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan, since its release on June 16, the movie has been making the audience nostalgic about their childhood favourite Ramayana, which was released in the 1990s and was viewed by many children on Doordarshan or the Cartoon Network.

Yes, it’s the famous 1992’s anime film Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, produced and directed by the Japanese filmmaker Yogo Sako which was made both in Hindi and English. As the story goes during his work on The Ramayana Relics documentary, which focused on the excavations near Prayagraj (then known as Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh by renowned archaeologist Dr BB Lal, Yugo Sako became familiar with the story of Ramayana. After conducting extensive research and reading 10 different Japanese versions of the epic, he concluded that an animated film would better capture the essence of Ramayana than a live-action movie. According to Yugo, “Because Ram is God, I felt it was best to depict him in animation, rather than by an actor.”

The film was voiced by the popular Indian actor Arun Govil who voiced Lord Rama, Amrish Puri for Ravana, Namrata Sawhney as Sita and Shatrughan Sinha as the narrator.

In 2001, the film was then edited and adapted for a US release named Warrior Prince or The Prince of Light: The Legend of Ramayana, which is when Bryan Cranston aka Walter White in Breaking Bad lent his voice for Lord Rama. In addition, the movie featured a narration from the renowned James Earl Jones, who is most famous for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise.

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama was well-received globally, including in Japan. However, the film faced a ban in India for more than three years due to the polarised and communal environment during the Babri Masjid riots. The Hindi version of the film was finally broadcasted on Doordarshan in 1995, and both versions are currently accessible on YouTube.

See Also: From Adipurush to RRR: Six Bollywood movies inspired by the Hindu Epic Ramayana