/> Ramanand Sagar, one of India's most successful movie producers and TV serial makers best known for his the episodic "Ramayan" on the small screen, has died at the age of 87, having lived a full life.

For the first 10 years of his working life the prolific writer-director was a journalist. The keen eye for detail, which served him in good stead as a writer, also gave him the sharpness of vision that translated into a string of hits in the 1960s, including the twin blockbusters "Aarzoo" and "Aankhen", said to be among the biggest successes of the era.

He migrated from his hometown Lahore to Mumbai in 1947. Once in the city of dreams, he wrote novels and short stories, including a first-hand account of the trauma he suffered during the partition of India.

During this period he also turned into a scriptwriter. His first career-making break came when he wrote Raj Kapoor's 1948 hit "Barsaat". The film made him a much sought-after screenwriter.

Among the successful screenplays he wrote there were three films directed by Tamil director S.S. Vasan - "Insaniyat", "Raj Tilak" and "Paigham".

By the time he directed his first film "Mehmaan" in 1953 he was well on the road to fame.

As a director Sagar would be considered not excessively prolific as compared with his colleagues like B.R. Chopra, Mohan Kumar and Devendra Goel. His films were mellowed down melodramas with an acute family appeal.

He worked repeatedly with stars like Rajendra Kumar, Mala Sinha and Kum Kum who shot to fame through her association with Sagar.

The 1970s were a period of lull for Ramanand Sagar. Big-budget failures like the lavishly made Dharmemdra-Hema Malini costume drama "Baghawat" in 1982 and a Hindi adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" titled "Hum Tere Aashiq Hain" (directed by his son Prem Sagar) in 1979 put the illustrious Sagar Arts banner in trouble.

He bounced back with a bang with mythological TV series "Ramayan" for the Doordarshan. The uninterrupted two-year run of this mega-serial marked a turning point for Indian television. Roads all over the country went empty when it was telecast on Sunday mornings.

He tried to encore the Ramayan success with another televised mythological "Krishna" two years later.

But he will be largely remembered as the filmmaker who precipitated a 'national bandh' every Sunday morning by bringing the gods into every household in India.

The best of Ramanand Sagar:

1 "Aarzoo" (1965): Rajendra Kumar, Sadhana and Feroz Khan love triangle triggered mass hysteria. One of the biggest hits of the decade the film featured Kumar as the lovelorn 'Majnu' who decides to keep away from his sweetheart Sadhana after he loses a leg.

The film's Kashmiri locales and Shankar-Jaikishan's super-hit songs ("Bedardi balma", "Ajee rooth kar ab", "Ae nargis-e-mastana", "Chlake teri aankhon se") added considerably to the film's repeat value.

2 "Aankhen" (1968): India's first bona fide spy thriller featured Dharmendra as the 'desi' James Bond cracking China's spy network with the help of Mala Sinha.

Mehmood's beggar's song "Tujhko rakhe raam tujhko allah rakhe" and Dharmendra's swaggering machismo did the trick.

3 "Lalkaar" (1972): A "Sangam"-style love triangle set against a war backdrop, film's amateurish war scenes took away from the emotional impact of two brothers (Rajendra Kumar and Dharmendra) in love with the same girl (Mala Sinha).

The two male stars came together for the first time since the super-hit "Ayee Milan Ki Bela". But Kumar had begun to lose his appeal. The film looked jaded.

4 "Jalte Badan" (1973): A rather startling departure from tradition for Sagar this film featured Kiran Kumar and his favourite Kum Kum that attempted to expose the hollowness of the drugs-dames-rock 'n' roll culture. Embarrassing, but nonetheless a departure from the norm.

5 "Charas" (1976): Dharmendra and Hema Malini featured in a kind of sequel to "Aankhen". Though the pair was liked but the film's complicated plot made it less popular than expected. Laxmikant-Pyarelal's chartbusters "Aaja teri yaad ayee" and "Kal ki haseen mulaqat ke liye" are perennial favourites.

6 "Ramayan" (1986-1988): Arun Govil and Deeepika Chikhiliya became household deities after they played God Ram and Goddess Sita in his portable kitsch. The series turned out to be one of the most profitable ventures for Doordashan.