As lockdown commenced, Doordarshan did a masterstroke by showing reruns of Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan. All generations of Indian families were glued to the TV screens and the serial went viral again in the 21st century. The telecast broke several TRP records proving religious shows still have a strong audience. This year MX Player plans to reel in the views with their new show Ramyug. From the trailer we know that the story remains the same but the theme and mood has certainly changed.

Most religious serials have a bit of difficult vocabulary with archaic Hindi and Sanskrit words. But Ramyug has gone a little easier on this front. This might have been done to cater to the young audience. But I must admit, since the source material of Valmiki’s Ramayan and Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas is not being followed, dialogues do seem to lose their vigour.

Something that will really unnerve the audience is the amount of creative liberties taken in the show. 

Sita, who in the myths was imprisoned in Ashok Vatika, here seems to be surrounded by coconut  and palm trees. Hanuman does not have facial features of a Vanar and looks extremely human. following the trend of giving chiseled abs to religious figures, we see a ripped cast playing Ram, Lakshman and Ravan. 

The cast of 1987 Ramayan was extremely well chosen. The actors had a regal aura and commanded veneration.

While in Ramyug, the only divine intervention you will receive is when you wash your eyes with holy water.

Vfx also aren’t particularly well made. Ravan’s gilded Lanka is now pale and silver. Also the ten heads of our antagonist look extremely fake.

In all, don't have too many expectations from this web series. I know, I won't.