The Japanese anime Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama had its long-awaited theatrical release in India this January, with a newly remastered 4K version featuring dubs in four languages. However, fans of the 90s Hindi version, which included iconic voices like Arun Govil, Amrish Puri, and Shatrughan Sinha, were surprised to find that the Hindi dub had been replaced with a new voice cast. This change sparked a mixed response among fans.
The reason behind this change was revealed by the film’s licensor, TEM Co., which responded to the fan outcry. According to TEM, the original 1997 Hindi dub could not be included in the 4K remaster because the master audio files were lost. The company also faced difficulties with copyright issues, as the rights for the 1997 dub were split between the producers and Doordarshan. TEM had attempted to salvage the original dub by extracting and cleaning the audio from DVDs but ultimately decided not to use it.
The new Hindi dub, produced by Geek Pictures India, was based on the 1993 English version of the film, which was co-produced by Japan and India. This anime adaptation of the Ramayana has remained a cult classic, largely due to its widespread airing on TV in the 90s and 2000s after being initially banned from theatrical release following the Bombay Riots. Despite the controversy over the new dub, the film is still regarded as one of the finest adaptations of the epic.