Ramayan actress Dipika Chikhlia gets invitation to Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya

The Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha event was described as "magical" and "historical" by Dipika Chikhlia. The actress, who played Sita in Ramanand Sagar's hugely popular Ramayan TV series in 1987, called the current generation extremely lucky as they would get to witness "Lord Ram coming back to his abode after 400-500 years."

Dipika Chikhlia likely to attend consecration ceremony with Arun Govil 

In a conversation with PTI, Dipika confirmed that she had been invited to the grand ceremony. She is likely to be accompanied by Arun Govil, who had essayed the role of Lord Ram in the classic television show, which spanned 78 episodes on Doordarshan.

“Yes, we have been invited to Ayodhya on January 22… It will be something magical and a historic moment,” said Dipika. “I have always said that I am very blessed that I could play Sita ji in Ramayan. It has been a very divine experience to be a part of something as magical as Ramayan. I enjoyed my journey throughout. I was one of those few actors who played Sita… but I continued to remain Sita Ji till date. So I think we have all been very blessed,” she added.

Other guests at the Ram temple consecration ceremony

The temple spread over 70 acres will be open to the public after Prime Minister Narendra Modi does the pran pratishtha, or the consecration ceremony of the Ram Lalla idol, on January 22.

Besides Dipika Chikhlia and Arun Govil, several film personalities, including Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Anupam Kher, Akshay Kumar, Rajinikanth, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal, Dhanush, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, Sunny Deol, Prabhas, Yash and Rishab Shetty, have also been invited for the ceremony.

“I want to tell everybody that January 22, 2024, is the new date for Diwali. The way Diwali will be celebrated in Ayodhya, similarly everyone should welcome Lord Ram and celebrate Diwali in their homes,” said Dipika.

(with inputs from PTI)