Playing mythological royalty carries hazards nobody anticipates. Behind the silk drapes and ornate crowns, physical costumes extract a literal toll.
Lara Dutta revealed that reality this week, sharing behind-the-scenes footage from the sets of Ramayana where she plays Queen Kaikeyi. The video showed crew technicians using a miniature hand saw to cut through an immovable metal bangle jammed onto her wrist. Heavy jewellery, intricate prosthetics, and layered drapes defined her regal screen presence—at the cost of a near-surgical extraction.
To look like this, there's a whole lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes!! Including almost having your wrist sawn off!!
Yet the physical ordeal arrived as the production celebrated historic commercial milestones.
The costume department worked through elaborate setups to assemble Dutta’s look for the ambitious adaptation. Heavy armlets, stacked neckpieces, and tailored regalia anchored the visual design of Kaikeyi's chambers. But the metallic adornments turned stubborn during wardrobe changes, forcing the crew to bring out cutting tools.
| Production Parameter | Record / Detail |
|---|---|
| Featured Role | Queen Kaikeyi (Lara Dutta) |
| Lead Cast | Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, Sai Pallavi |
| Global Box Office Gross | ₹1,000+ Crore |
| Time to ₹1,000 Crore | 8 Days |
| Historic Milestone | Third-fastest Indian film to touch ₹1,000 crore |
The wardrobe mishap follows Dutta's vocal pushback against online criticism surrounding the film's action sequences. Traditionalists had targeted scenes depicting Sita, played by Sai Pallavi, wielding weaponry and fighting alongside Ranbir Kapoor’s Ram.
Dutta dismissed those complaints directly. Royal lineages across ancient India routinely trained both princes and princesses in combat, martial arts, and military tactics. Decades of sanitised retellings, she argued, flattened that historical texture.
There are so many versions of the Ramayana as well. And if you really looked at the way culture was in those times, boys and girls who were born into royal families, they were all, at some level, provided with training in arts and weaponry.
Dutta pointed out that a royal figure choosing a 14-year forest exile would naturally develop fierce survival instincts. When survival demands action, resilience follows. At some point, Dutta noted, someone surviving in hostile terrain picks up a weapon to defend herself.
Detractors, Dutta stated bluntly, need to stop being so small-minded and embrace the cinematic experience.
With Yash rounding out the headline cast alongside Kapoor and Pallavi, the film continues its record-breaking global theatrical run.