Can Bollywood's resident bad boy play God? Nitesh Tiwari thinks so. The filmmaker handed Ranbir Kapoor the bow of Lord Rama in his multi-part epic Ramayana, immediately igniting a ferocious debate over stardom, sacred iconography, and screen baggage. Tiwari also cast Yash as Raavan and Sai Pallavi as Sita. Yet it is Kapoor's presence at the heart of the project that has provoked television veterans and mythic purists alike. The transition is jarring. Just months ago, Kapoor dominated theaters as Ranvijay Singh—the blood-soaked, axe-wielding protagonist of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's 2023 blockbuster Animal.
Television royalty remains entirely unconvinced. Shiv Sagar—grandson of Ramanand Sagar, who created the landmark 1987 television series Ramayan—voiced sharp reservations about Kapoor stepping into the sacred part. Sagar praised the choices of Yash and Sai Pallavi, arguing they carry far cleaner slates. But Kapoor arrives with decades of heavy screen history. "Personally, I cannot accept Ranbir Kapoor as Ram after Animal," Sagar stated. "When I look at Ram ji, I feel that a fresh face should have been taken." Sagar acknowledged Kapoor's technical range, yet contended the production hired him largely for commercial clout.
Mukesh Khanna took direct aim at the adaptation's tone. The veteran actor attacked the heavy visual effects and stylized skirmishes showcased in initial promotional footage, warning that Tiwari risks reducing Lord Rama to an ordinary action star. Dignity and restraint define the deity—not acrobatic swagger. "Aapne unko Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth bana diya hai," Khanna said. "If you portray Shri Ram more as a man of action than as Maryada Purushottam, and turn him into Clint Eastwood, I might feel that Lord Ram did not fight like this." If Ram fought like a Hollywood gunslinger, Khanna asked, why summon the Vanar Sena at all?
Gajendra Chauhan voiced equal skepticism. Chauhan, who played Yudhishthir in BR Chopra's Mahabharat and King Dashrath in BR Chopra's Ramayan, faulted the early staging—specifically questioning the dramatic execution of Kaikeyi demanding Ram's exile. Decades on mythological sets taught Chauhan that recognizable stars struggle to dissolve into revered deities. The audience simply remembers the actor's last cinematic rampage. When a performer spends two decades cycling through neurotic, morally compromised urban men, projecting absolute spiritual purity becomes an exhausting climb.
Costume designers Rimple and Harpreet Narula face an equally treacherous canvas as they dress Kapoor and Sai Pallavi, cautioning that no single visual reference exists to anchor such legendary figures. Tiwari has pushed his chips onto the table, banking entirely on Kapoor's dramatic chops to overpower the initial backlash. The final test will arrive in darkened theaters, where Kapoor must convince millions to unsee Ranvijay Singh.