Remember Ramayan's Surpanakha? Renu Dhariwal was paid Rs 30000 to play Ravana's sister, became Shah Rukh Khan's 'sister' also, is now...

Originally aired from January 1987 to July 1988 on Doordarshan, Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan is a cult show in the history of Indian television and has seen many re-runs over the years. After the epic series aired, several of its leading actors including Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia, Sunil Lahri, and Arvind Trivedi became huge stars. Renu Dhariwal, who played Ravana's sister Surpanakha in Ramayana and appeared in just four out of the 78 episodes, also became famous after the show.

In an interview with Indian Express in 2018, Renu shared how Ramanand Sagar offered her the role of Surpanakha as she recalled, "I come from a conservative Punjabi family, the kind that would never allow their daughters to enter showbiz. But I wanted to be an actor, a decision my Bengali mother supported. Without telling my father the real reason for moving to Bombay, I came here and joined Roshan Taneja’s acting classes, where Govinda was my classmate. After that, I started to work in theatre. That’s where Papaji (Ramanand Sagar) saw me."

"He saw me play a mother in a play called Purush. When he realised I was a young girl, he was impressed and asked me to audition for Surpanakha’s role. Surpanakha is the sister of a powerful warrior and scholar, Raavan. She is a princess and a shapeshifter, and the one who becomes the trigger for the most famous battle in Hindu mythology. I didn’t see any reason to let go of the opportunity", she further added.

Adding how Ramayan got her more work opportunities, Renu said, "I was just a theatre artist before but after I appeared on national television as Surpanakha, people started to recognise me on the streets, in the bus, everywhere I went. I shot for two months in Umargaon and got paid a decent Rs 30,000 for it. But more importantly, that laughter opened many doors for me. It got me roles in BR Chopra’s teleseries Chunni, Surinder Singh’s National Award-winning Punjabi film Marhi da Deewa and also Hema Malini’s directorial debut Dil Aashna Hai, before I gave it all up for a career in politics." Renu played Shah Rukh Khan's sister in the 1992 film Dil Aashna Hai, which also starred Divya Bharti, Jeetendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Dimple Kapadia, Amrita Singh, Kabir Bedi, and Sonu Walia in pivotal roles. 

Renu Dhariwal, who became Renu Khanolkar after her marriage, was the former vice-president of Mumbai Pradesh Mahila Congress. After few years, she distanced herself from politics too and now helps her husband in his real estate business, and runs two NGOs that work for women and child welfare. 

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