Arvind Trivedi (English: Arvind Trivedi, born- November 8, 1938; death- October 6, 2021) was a famous small screen artist in Indian cinema. He played the role of Lankapati Ravana in the famous serial ‘Ramayana’ which aired on Doordarshan. ‘I am Lankadhipati Ravana…’ When the voice of Arvind Trivedi, who played the character of Lankesh in Ramanand Sagar’s much-talked about serial Ramayana in the 90s, resonated, even the viewers used to get goosebumps. If Arun Govil got immortal recognition as Ram from this serial, then actor Arvind Trivedi’s role of Ravana also became memorable.
Arvind Trivedi was born in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh. His career started from Gujarati theatre. His brother Upendra Trivedi has been a famous name in Gujarati cinema and has acted in Gujarati films. Lankesh i.e. Arvind Trivedi, who became a household name with the popular Hindi show ‘Ramayana’, acted in about 300 Hindi and Gujarati films. He gained recognition among Gujarati audiences through Gujarati language religious and social films where he contributed for 40 years.[1]
Arvind Trivedi gained recognition among Gujarati audiences through Gujarati language religious and social films, where he contributed for 40 years. He had won seven awards for best acting in Gujarati films awarded by the Government of Gujarat. In 2002 he was named as the acting chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Arvind Trivedi served as the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief from 20 July 2002 to 16 October 2003.
Even though Arvind Trivedi was seen fighting with Ram on the TV screen, in real life he was a great devotee of Ram. He himself had told that when he used harsh words against Ram in the serial, he used to apologize to God later. Last year, when the Ramayana serial started airing again on TV during the Corona lockdown, his pictures also appeared on TV channels. He was seen watching Ramayana on TV.
Whenever Arun Govil appeared on screen in the role of Lord Ram, Arvind Trivedi would salute with folded hands. The generation born in this century might be surprised to know that at that time people sitting in front of the TV would also join hands, worship and cheer after seeing Arun Govil in the role of Lord Ram. While talking to the media in the year 2020, family members had told that elderly Arvind Trivedi was spending most of his time in devotion to God.[2]
Who can forget the roar of Arvind Trivedi in the role of Ravana. If we look at it from acting point of view, he had brought life to the role of Ravana. Later, in all the serials made on Ramayana, an attempt was made to copy the character of Ravana like Arvind Trivedi. He had worked in about 300 Hindi and Gujarati films.
Arvind Trivedi’s career started with Gujarati theatre. Arvind’s brother was a good name of Gujarati cinema, due to which Arvind also started with Gujarati cinema. But Arvind got his real recognition from ‘Ramayana’ which was broadcast on Doordarshan in 1987. Arvind Trivedi played the role of Ravana in Ramayana. Arvind had breathed such life into the character of Ravana that the audience started considering him as Ravana in reality.[3]
Along with cinema, Arvind Trivedi was also associated with politics. His popularity was at its peak when he contested elections from Sabarkantha seat of Gujarat in 1991 on BJP ticket and also won. He was a Lok Sabha MP from 1991 to 1996. Interestingly, at that time Arvind Trivedi was more famous by the name Lankesh than by his own name. Wherever he held meetings, people asked him to recite Ravana’s dialogues. His name is also written as Arvind Trivedi (Lankesh) in election related documents.
In the 1991 elections, Arvind Trivedi (Lankesh) got 48.28% i.e. total 168704 votes from Sambarkatha seat. At second position, JD(G) candidate Maganbhai Manibhai Patel got 37.86 percent votes (132286 votes). At third place, Rajmohan Gandhi of Janata Dal got 9.66 percent and total 33746 votes. A total of 20 candidates were in the fray in that election and except three candidates, all of them got less than 01 percent of the votes. At that time, there used to be huge crowd in the rallies of Lankesh (Arvind Trivedi). People travel many kilometers. People would come on foot from long distances to see and hear him. Even though such a famous actor was contesting the elections, even at that time the stakes were high to defeat him. To cut into the votes, two more Trivedi candidates contested or were fielded in that election, but Lankesh won with a huge majority.[2]
83-year-old Arvind Trivedi died on Tuesday (October 5, 2021) night due to a heart attack. Arvind was suffering from age related diseases for a long time. At the same time, he had become unable to even walk for some time.[3]
Actor Sunil Lahiri, who played the role of Lakshman in Ramayana, expressed grief over the demise of Arvind Trivedi. Sunil wrote on Twitter, ‘It is very sad news that our beloved Arvind Bhai is no longer with us. May his soul rest in peace. I lost my father figure, my guide and the best person. Apart from Sunil Lahiri, many celebs and fans also paid tribute to Arvind on social media.