Mukesh Khanna Slams Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana Over Yash's Ravana Praise Above Ranbir Kapoor

Mukesh Khanna has thrown down a sharp cultural challenge.

The veteran actor—etched into India's television consciousness as Bhishma Pitamah in BR Chopra's iconic Mahabharat—has aimed a furious volley at director Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming cinematic adaptation of Ramayana. His target? A six-month wave of promotional whisperings and industry chatter that routinely positions Kannada superstar Yash's portrayal of Ravana ahead of Ranbir Kapoor's Lord Rama.

Khanna has not seen the film. He freely conceded that up front. Yet the sustained drumbeat around Yash's antagonist role has pushed him past his boiling point.

The Dhurandhar Comparison And Scripted Stature

For Khanna, acting honors do not materialize out of thin air. They stem directly from pen and paper.

To drive his critique home, Khanna cited the upcoming ensemble action feature Dhurandhar—which features Akshaye Khanna alongside Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, and R. Madhavan. Even when playing second fiddle to a traditional lead, an actor can dominate the frame if a filmmaker chooses to hand them dramatic gold.

"An actor can only perform extraordinarily when he is given a script that allows him to do so," Khanna explained. "If I excelled as Bhishma Pitamah, it was because Dr. Rai's script was handed to me on a silver platter. If Akshaye Khanna shines in Dhurandhar despite not being the hero, it is because the director and writer gave him those scenes and that build-up. So, if Yash has done such a remarkable job, there is a script behind it. And what I see in that script is the glorification of Ravana."

Regional Narratives And Cultural Red Lines

Khanna did not stop at script craft. He pushed his argument into modern ideological turf, warning against historical revisionism inside mainstream cinema.

"Listen again! Ravana has been glorified," Khanna stated. "An attempt has been made to place Ravana above Rama. A narrative, but whose narrative? Since childhood, I have heard that we burn effigies of Ravana every Dussehra. Someone once told me that in some places in the South, effigies of Rama are burnt instead of Ravana. I was shocked. Two versions of the Ramayana in our country! Here too, I see the same intention, the same narrative, where Ravana is being glorified and presented as larger than life."

The Cultural Context: The debate strikes at the delicate balance Indian filmmakers face when reimagining foundational epics for multiplexes, where spectacle often collides with deeply held regional and religious sentiments.

Khanna conceded that tradition acknowledges the demon king's intellectual pedigree. Ravana was a revered scholar, penned the Shiv Tandav Stotra, and earned boons from Lord Shiva. Even Lord Rama famously directed his brother Lakshman to stand beside the dying Lankan king and receive lessons in governance and statecraft.

Yet Khanna drew a hard line across that concession.

With Nitesh Tiwari's production heading deeper into its shooting schedule, Khanna's broadside guarantees that audience scrutiny will fixate firmly on the screen time and narrative weight allotted to both Kapoor and Yash when initial footage surfaces.