Varun Badola, a name long associated with Indian television, recently opened up about the inner workings of the industry and his personal experiences navigating it. In a candid conversation on the YouTube show Zindagi with Richa, the actor-director spoke about his career, the shifting landscape of storytelling, and some lesser-known stories from behind the scenes.
Badola, known for his honesty, recalled how creative decisions often clashed with rigid rules set by broadcasters. He admitted that the word “aspirational” was always the first guideline for any TV show, but the way it was interpreted never made sense to him. In his words, “Either I was taught a very different meaning of that word, or I didn’t understand the makers.” The industry’s vision of aspiration, he felt, was often limited and disconnected from reality.
Among the anecdotes he shared, one surprising revelation involved Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, a show that went on to become one of Indian television’s most iconic creations. Badola disclosed that, surprisingly, the show was nearly buried before it could see the light of day. “I can give you first hand information regarding this, that a show like Ramayan had 175 cuts prepared. Ramanand Sagar himself made those 175 cuts and told me. Yet they did not want to air the show for reasons best known to them,” he shared.
Badola explained that content dealing with religious subjects often makes people uncomfortable. He believed it was largely due to outdated attitudes that still lingered within the industry. He described how people started walking on eggshells whenever a religious theme was introduced into a script. The atmosphere around such content was filled with hesitance and fear of public backlash, which, according to him, was the result of a “rudimentary and archaic” mindset.
Another incident from his career illustrated this reluctance even further. Badola recounted how he wanted to include a quote from Ramcharitmanas in one of his shows. The idea was immediately shot down. “I wanted to use a quote from the Ramcharitmanas, and they were completely against it and told me that it wasn’t allowed. Their explanations were very weird, and they told me that I could use any one obscure line written by Kabir, but I couldn’t use the entire doha,” he recalled.
Badola’s journey in television began with daily soaps but gradually moved toward the world of OTT platforms. His recent projects have marked a clear shift in his career. The actor appeared in Guns and Gulaabs in 2023, followed by Your Honour in 2020, and Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen in 2024. This year, he was seen in Sky Force, a film starring Akshay Kumar and introducing Veer Pahariya to the big screen. Badola’s foray into digital and cinema has allowed him to explore characters and stories outside the constraints of television’s formulaic approach.
