Led Zeppelin vs. Indian religious sitcom

8ate sez, "Created this small video using clippings from popular 1980s Indian religious sitcom 'Ramayan' having crazy SFX and the famous Led Zeppelin number 'Immigrant Song'. Enjoy!"

Best repurposing of Zepp since Shrek!

immigrant gods sing (Thanks, 8ate!)

[Trent Hawkins July 13, 2009 8:48 AM]

Nice!

Reminds me of the Hindu dream sequence from Splitting Heirs.

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 8:48 AM]

This was such a trip that i have converted!

-G.

[Brent Finnegan July 13, 2009 8:57 AM]

If Georges Méliès lived in the 70s and hung out with Timothy Leary.

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 9:03 AM]

Someone much wiser than me once said, "Life's too short to listen to any more Led Zeppelin."

[error404 July 13, 2009 9:11 AM]

Just because it is is super low budget does not actually mean it is a comedy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayan_(TV_series)

This is taken rather more seriously by the worlds Hindus than you seem to think Cory.

[hooeezit July 13, 2009 9:27 AM]

I grew up at the time Ramayan was being aired on TV. Back then, India had no cable network, there was pretty much only one TV channel broadcast over the air, for about 6 hours a day. Ramayan was staple diet for most Indians back then. There were very few TVs around - so the neighbours used to congregate at the neighbourhood TV owner's home to watch Ramayan. I've even heard of people performing Hindu worship rituals before the start of each episode.

You have to understand that Ramayan and Mahabharat are considered very deeply religious epics. The most common chant you may have heard - Hare Ram, Hare Krishna - involves the central figures of the 2 epics - Ram from Ramayan and Krishna from Mahabharat.

So, don't tell any religious Indian that this is comedy. You might get slain by a billion angry people!

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 9:33 AM]

Dude you need to chill out man. I also grew up in India and my earliest memories of TV is watching Ramayan and Mahabharat on Doordarshan since that was the only channel we had for a while. This is awesome for anyone that is a fan of Led Zeppelin and the indian Epics.
This is awesome cause the song is about Nordic Gods and valhalla but it can also apply to the hindu mythology as well.

Awesome video. Going up on my Facebook.

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 9:44 AM]

is that John Cleese?

[MrJM July 13, 2009 9:46 AM]

Just great...

Now I have to convert to Hinduism.

-- MrJM

[Takuan July 13, 2009 9:59 AM]

so mash this up from 8:26 with some banghra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7puu_dfsSB0&feature=PlayList&p=646D154BA526107C&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=18

[Trent Hawkins July 13, 2009 10:22 AM]

I wouldn't take it any more or less serious if the topic was Jesus or Moses. It's a corny video from the 70s, the religious implications of which are irrelevant for the purpose of laughing at how corny it is.

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 10:26 AM]

needs more kittens in viking longboats with helmets and axes...

[Antinous / Moderator replied to comment from hooeezit July 13, 2009 10:41 AM]

I remember watching this when I was in India. It was definitely must-see TV. As to religion versus camp, have you ever seen The Ten Commandments? Mel Brooks couldn't have made it funnier.

[itstimeforpool July 13, 2009 10:54 AM]

all time favorites ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMkAjgvWhs0

[DWittSF July 13, 2009 10:55 AM]

Fair Use FTW!

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 11:06 AM]

I was in India when Ramayana was on air. 'Sitcom' is not what I'd use to describe it. I think from a western perspective, shows with this elaborate and odd looking costumes and story line are seen like camp, when they're in fact serious shows. Ramayana was this epic decades long show, that was special on tv and serious in production. It is as if in 20 years we look back and call House or 24 "sitcoms" sure it might be goofy considering the time it was made, but they're not 'sitcoms'.

[Frank W July 13, 2009 11:08 AM]

Love it. Now I've seen this, I can't even think of more appropriate visuals to the song. The only thing that could make it any better is a big ol' reefer to go with it.

If you get all politically correct over this, you miss the point. The Mahayana is pure narrative awesome whatever your religious outlook. It's not just holy scripture, it's great entertainment. Perfectly suitable for all sorts of pop adaptations, just like King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Led Zep doesn't hurt this 70s TV Mahayana any more than it ever hurt the ancient epic.

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 11:22 AM]

Dude, was that Ron Jeremy?

[pahool July 13, 2009 11:43 AM]

@17 'Ramayan' not 'Mahayana.' You might be confusing it with the 'Mahabharata' production that was done by the same folks (I believe) or with Mahayana Buddhism.

[Anonymous July 13, 2009 12:12 PM]

Lol. Hilarious.

But this was not a sitcom though. It was a serious religious show watched by half a billion people. When there's only 1 channel in the country people had no choice, especially in the 80's, before India opened up and we could truly vegetate with classy shows like big brother, survivor and idol...

[Frank W July 13, 2009 12:29 PM]

Oops! Apologies for my mixedupity.

[imajication July 13, 2009 1:21 PM]

I remember visiting India when this was on TV. Sorry if I offend anybodies PC-ness, but it was pretty awful. No one here would hesitate to pile on a Bible adaptation with cheesy special affects. Though India, especially at the time, had little money or experience to do a slick job, they are still fair to make fun of. As much as the F/X in old Dr. Who episodes.

This video is awesome, since it combines one of my favorite songs with lost memories of my youth.

Life is too short NOT to listen to more Led Zepplin.

[Moustache/PMH July 13, 2009 2:18 PM]

Thats a pretty funny mash up.

A while ago I posted about how Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, which was inspired by Rodgers/Hammerstein, was used as some inspiration for a Bollywood tune back in 1975.

You can check it out here......

http://www.pardonmyhindi.com/blog/?p=408

[NoahApples July 13, 2009 4:11 PM]

That was awesome, but really it just made me want to watch that program in its original form.

[Vinayak July 14, 2009 12:13 AM]

Thanks Cory for putting up the video and thanks everyone for the comments!
And yes I agree it wasn't actually a 'sitcom'...(I couldn't think of a better word...I kept remembering that people used to pray in front of their TV sets while it was on) but now I do remember 'Epic' or 'Religious' serial is the word still used in India for these serials.

There is nothing offensive in this video except perhaps my editing:) This video is meant to be a tribute to the awesome serial and the great song.

In 90s when MTV first came to India, one of the first thing that they did to Indianize their content was to make a spoof of this series. And for the spoof they actually used the original clippings from the series after taking permission from its maker Ramanand Sagar. But when the makers saw the final MTV product they couldn't see humor and were mighty miffed. (Since then now even MTV has slowly but truly become vegetate)

@7: that was the basic idea.

@Antinous: The Ten Commandments is considered a classic and a must watch in India by people of certain generation :).

@Moustache/PMH: thanks for sharing the classic number only

For the fans of the series: Here's a collage image based on every single mad bad crazy arrow fired in this epic battle

[Vinayak October 12, 2009 11:51 PM]

(link fix) Here's a collage image based on every single mad bad crazy arrow fired in this epic battle