As a nationwide lockdown was announced in Indian by PM Modi from 25 March onwards, owing to popular demand, the re-telecast of the legendary TV series Ramayan was started by the state broadcaster Doordarshan. As expected, the viewership of Doordarshan soared instantly.

Soon the re-telecast of Mahabharat and other serials like Shaktiman and Byomokesh Bakshi was announced. But none of the serials matches the popularity of Ramayan. While it is understood that for the majority of the people in India, the Ramayan serial not only has a spiritual connection, but also a deep nostalgia of the late 80s, when there was no internet, no cable TV and life was much different, but the Ramanand Sagar creation seems to have much of the 21st century born ‘millennials’ hooked too.

Memes, jokes and discussion of the TV serial are flooding the social media. The language, the style of conversation presented in the serial and the scenes are being shared widely.

However, while Lord Ram is the hero of Ramayan, when it comes to memes, it is “Bhrata Laxman” who is stealing the show. The role of Laxman was played by Sunil Lahiri, and his facial expressions, dialogues and style are winning hearts now all over again, over three decades after he acted in that role. Here are some hilarious ones:

Me watching someone eat Pulao and calling it Veg Biryani.. pic.twitter.com/I8t1vhplcV — The-Lying-Lama 2.0 (@KyaUkhaadLega) April 5, 2020

When your neighbor does not share Wi-Fi password…#Ramayanmemes pic.twitter.com/kToIXp4W4P — Tweet Potato (@newshungree) April 1, 2020

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Laxman’s replies to Parshuram when he threatens Lord Ram at the scene of Sita ma’s Swayamvar has been a favourite of meme makers. Laxman’s witty and hilarious responses have won hearts and the internet too.

I know you were waiting for meme from #Ramayan this. Here's the savage Laxman with no chill against Parshuram in their samwad. #RamayanOnDDNational #RamayanaParMahabharat pic.twitter.com/XACrdzfizW — The Meme Jedi (@TheMemeJedi1) March 31, 2020

Many twitter users have agreed that Laxman ji is the master of all ‘savage replies’,’befitting responses’ and facial expressions that are the absolute favourite of meme makers.

In 1987 Ramayan was famous for Ramji.



In 2020 Ramayan is famous for Laxmanji.#Ramayana #Laxman pic.twitter.com/KEU8GzRjqH — SupeRman🇮🇳 (@memes_lust) April 1, 2020

The re-telecast of the Ramayan serial has created new viewership records for DD. An unbelievable number of people are watching the 1987 TV series. There were apprehensions that the re-telecast may not be very popular given the advancement of cinematography techniques, computer graphics and the changing taste of viewers, but the Ramayan serial seems to have smashed all speculations. While some memes may seem crude, many are in good humour, bringing some light-hearted moments while the nation #stayshome to fight the Wuhan coronavirus.